Physics and Advanced Materials

Brighter, Faster, Smaller.

Galaxy with equations

We share the goal of advancing the fields of communication, computing and optical technologies by harnessing the unique attributes of photons, as well as studying their generation and interactions with metamaterials, two-dimensional materials, and other advanced materials. Our research in these areas has been published in leading international journals such as Science, Nature Materials, Light, Advanced Materials, and ACS Photonics.

In collaboration with international and local industry partners, we are developing nonlinear optical and quantum devices such as wavelength-selective optical switches. Another ongoing research collaboration, with international multinational Thermo Fisher, is engaged in the development of new technologies for ion and electron microscopy and more efficient mass spectrometry detectors for applications in diverse fields such as proteomics, microscopy, and forensics. Our newly established Brillouin microscopy laboratory enables 3D non-invasive mapping of the mechanical properties of biomaterials, tissues and cells, revealing unique information about their effect on cellular growth, differentiation and vitality. We also have a long track record in the development of thin film optical materials for windows and coatings, as well as wide bandgap semiconductor devices such as GaN and ZnO LEDs.

Our facilities include state-of-the-art photonics, nonlinear optics, quantum physics, materials characterisation, and optical spectroscopy laboratories, as well as the latest dual ion-electron beam microscopes. Several of our researchers are associate investigators in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-optical Systems and the Sydney Quantum Academy.

We are a multidisciplinary discipline conducting research in the areas of photonics, plasmonics, quantum physics, biomedical physics and advanced and emerging materials. Our members include experts in the fields of:

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.