The ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS) will launch this month, bringing together eight Australian universities to develop tools to explore new planets, prevent strokes or monitor natural disasters.
COMBS received $35 million from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and will be based at RMIT University, which will also invest more than $9 million, with significant support from the other participating universities.
COMBS will advance the science and technology of optical microcombs, the world's most accurate measurement tools, which have the potential to transform medical diagnosis, communications, navigation, precision measurement and space exploration.
"Optical frequency combs are still generally confined to the most advanced science labs due to their size and complexity, however our team at COMBS aims to transform these systems into light-powered chips the size of a fingernail," COMBS Centre Director Professor Arnan Mitchell said.
"We will do this through partnering with scientific and industrial end-users to create new approaches and solutions in biomedical imaging, communications, precision measurement and astronomy."
COMBS will bring together experts from RMIT and across Australia in optical physics and semiconductor technology, with its research into microcombs having impacts in a variety of fields such as information processing, navigation, defence, biomedical imaging, environmental sciences and space exploration.
"The launch of COMBS marks a new chapter not just for RMIT, but for Australian science," said Professor Alec Cameron, RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President.
"COMBS will enable RMIT and Australia to lead in global scientific research, contributing to national capabilities in advanced manufacturing, environmental monitoring and medical technologies."
"The centre's interdisciplinary approach will bring together international experts from across the whole spectrum of science, technology and industry, enhancing quality of life for us all."
RMIT will collaborate with seven other universities to make COMBS a reality, including the University of Adelaide, UniSA, Monash University, Swinburne University of Technology, Australian National University, The University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney.
Find a full list of participating organisations here: www.arc.gov.au/funding-research/discovery-linkage/linkage-program/arc-centres-excellence/arc-centre-excellence-optical-microcombs-breakthrough-science
Our team at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS), aiming to make optical frequency comb technology as cheap, readily available and accessible as today's consumer electronics.
