Aussies pursue photonic chip

Fiber Optics Weekly Update, July 18, 2003

A new collaboration between Australia's leading optical communications experts will pursue the holy grail of photonics--the photonic chip. CUDOS--the ARC Center of Excellence for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems--has been established with $Al 1.5 million of funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) to undertake fundamental research aimed at underpinning the development of a photonic chip.

The Center is a collaboration between the University of Sydney, the Australian National University (ANU), the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Macquarie University, Swinburne University of Technology and CSIRO. Over $40 million of cash and in kind support will be provided by the ARC, the State Government of New South Wales and the collaborators. Around 70 researchers will be involved in the exciting research programs of the Center. ARC Federation Fellow Professor Ben Eggleton has returned from a directorial position with Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories to head the Center at the University of Sydney. The 'Center will demonstrate all-optical processing applications and devices for ultra-high bandwidth optical systems. These will derive from fundamental research in the most exciting and vibrant areas of photonics science--non-linear optical materials leading to nonlinear optical devices, photonic crystals, micro-structured optical fibers and micro-photonics.