Mission
The mission of the Centre for MicroPhotonic Systems is to provide the highly specialised technical know how and research needed to trigger a dynamic and vibrant MicroPhotonic industry to develop in Western Australia by facilitating high level collaboration between leading international research teams and by arranging access to state of the art research facilities.
A New Frontier
MicroPhotonics is the electronic frontier for the 21st century that will advance many key industries. It is impossible to visualise a future information technology without the development of the photonics industry. MicroPhotonics has the potential to improve information systems and image-processing technologies vastly. Speed, immunity to interference, increased bandwidth, parallel information processing abilities and enhanced data-storage capacity are some of the advantages of working with light. MicroPhotonics has an enormous range of applications in the information, communication, precision apparatus, medical service, security and energy sectors. The spectrum of applications includes:
- Communications: Super-high speed information communication, reconfigurable optical networks, dense optical interconnects;
- Information: Optical computing, optical data storage, optical input and output;
- Precision Apparatus: Laser machining, optical sensing, optical measurement;
- Medical: Laser treatment, and Laser diagnosis such as Optical Coherence Topography, T-ray;
- Energy: Solar battery, nucleus fusion through guided laser, new sources of energy and minimal power devices, gas sensors;
- Environment: Pollution sensors and monitors;
- Chemistry: Optical catalyst, CO2 fixing, optical dissolution;
- Automobile: Display techniques, communication systems, safety applications; and
- Security: Intelligent systems, broadband smart antennas.
Photonics is an enabling technology. The science of photonics exist in home lighting, in radio and clock displays, in televisions, CDs, computers and many other appliances. It also plays a vital role in automotive technology, telecommunications, the Internet, medical diagnostics and treatment, and radio astronomy. With such a broad range of applications, the size of the global photonics market is exceptionally large. The broad industry is projected to reach US$705 billion in 2008.
