Nanotechnology

The University conducts extensive research into the design, growth and fabrication of semiconductor and optical devices on the nanometer scale. These research efforts are currently being expanded by the development of a new $100M purpose built facility which once completed will become the Nation's major nanofabrication centre. This will enable us to consolidate expertise and facilities in a single critical mass centre devoted to research and development of the next generation of sub miniature devices such as quantum dots, nanowires, photonic crystals and metameterials. The centre will reflect our commitment to research excellence, hosting 78 academics including 4 Federation Fellows.

You can read more about this exciting proposal here

The breadth of research in this burgeoning field also includes:

Nanocrystals in semiconductor materials are used to enable manipulation of properties, for example light emission at wavelengths incompatible with the bulk material band structure.

Nanotubes as their name suggests are microscopically small pipes of material such as carbon - like an elongated form of a "buckie ball". These have exciting properties such as unimaginably high tensile strengths and the School has an active research program on the efficient production of nanotubes by mechano chemistry.

Complex fluids such as liquid crystals, the properties of polymers and the folding of DNA molecules.

More information is available in individual departmental websites (see left)