Gone, in the Twinkling of an Eye
Monday, January 1, 2007
Swinburne is part of an international group led by Oxford University that has received more than A$2 million (£900,000) from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the UK to develop adaptive optics for use at a microscopic level. Adaptive optics is a technology used to improve the performance of telescopes by reducing the effects of optical distortion taking the twinkle out of star observation.
It works by measuring the distortion and rapidly compensating for it using focused light. At a microscopic level, the technique will be used for biomedical and engineering purposes to allow researchers to examine skin or brain tissue with a sharper focus and increase the accuracy of microscale engineering.
The goal of the project is to develop adaptive optical fabrication systems that will be able to produce complex optical microdevices with greater accuracy than was previously possible. Using a micro fabrication process developed at the Centre for Micro-Photonicslead by Professor Min Gu, researchers are working to create a photonic chip inside a piece of glass. This would be used within an optical computer, a next-generation information technology that would break the speed limit of current electronic computers.