CUDOS Secures Funding for Next 7 Years

In a move that will boost the integrated photonics industry, the Center of Excellence for Ultrahigh Bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS) has secured major funding for the next seven years with a total of $33 million (AUS), including $23.8 million from the Australian Research Council.

“CUDOS has a new vision with a strong foundation. With new chief investigators, new international links and end-user partnerships, we have the capacity and drive to revolutionize information systems and create and develop Australian industry,” said Ben Eggleton, director of the center and professor of physics at the University of Sydney, where CUDOS is headquartered. “Importantly, we’ll also be training and mentoring young researchers in the science and application of nanophotonics and photonic processing.”

In the past two years, CUDOS has published and presented prestigious papers while research developments have received international media attention. Some of the breakthrough technology includes unprecedented Tbaud processing speeds and demonstrations of slow light enhanced optical processing; these breakthroughs have the potential to reduce Internet information bottlenecks.

According to Eggleton, the new CUDOS will take the next big step in optical systems by transforming photonic integrated circuits into a technology that will have a profound effect on economies and lifestyles around the world. This revolutionary research will allow the Internet to transfer vast amounts of data with significantly improved energy efficiency and security using quantum photonics-based integrated devices.

The CUDOS photonic chips will also enable the detection of mid-infrared signatures of light from distant stars and complex molecules of environmental or biochemical importance.

“We will achieve this by developing functional metamaterials with unprecedented optical properties to control light, engineering them into miniature photonic processors,” said Eggleton. “The outcomes that can be expected from this second round of funding will fuel research and development programs for decades, harnessing links between fundamental research and commercial applications through industry partners and startup companies, and developing strong linkages between Australian and overseas universities and companies.”

For more information, visit: www.cudos.org.au