Macquarie University Facilities

The research laboratories of the CUDOS @ Macquarie Node include our newly refurbished photonics laboratories (total space 115 m²) housing a suite of micro-processing and micro-characterisation equipment. The group also has access to a clean room and profilometers. These facilities are all housed within building E7B on the Macquarie University campus. In addition, the CUDOS @ Macquarie group led a University based consortium seeking funding for a new scanning electron microscope with an Energy Dispersion System for identification of the chemical components in our substrates. This device was installed in the adjoining building in 2005 and is freely accessed by CUDOS staff and students.

Photonics Laboratory I

This laboratory hosts several major facilities enabling both micro-processing and micro-characterisation of photonic components. The first of these is the ARC LIEF funded Femtosecond laser microfabrication facility: This is a generic facility shared by a range of CUDOS projects laser machining glasses and crystals, direct writing fibre gratings and direct writing planar waveguide structures inside bulk glasses. The key components of this facility are a kHz pulse rate Hurricane femtosecond laser, frequency doubler and tripler, and 2 high precision XYZ (Aerotech: 10 nm resolution, 25x25x25mm and Aerotech: 10nm resolution, 100x100x100mm travel). Secondly, this laboratory houses a micro-characterisation and assembly facility, used for the characterisation, over the entire C-band, of photonic crystal and guided wave devices. This facility combines high precision 12 axis alignment stages (Melles Griot Nano-Max), optical probes (JDS swept wavelength system), imaging system and fibre pigtailing capability in an integrated system. Other systems available in this laboratory include a CO₂ laser glass processing rig used for fabricating fibre tapers for evanescent probing as well as shaping and fusing glass components.

Andrew Lee working with the femtosecond laser facility.

Graham Marshall sets up the translation stages in the femtosecond facility

Photonic Laboratory II

We are currently in the process of building a second femtosecond laser processing facility incorporating a MHz pulse rate, high pulse energy oscillator on loan from Femtolasers Produktions GmbH and Garching University, Munich. This system will be used to investigate the interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and optical materials. This laboratory will become operationable in 2006.

Diagnostic Laboratory

This laboratory hosts conventional (Olympus BH2), stereo and Differential Interference Contrast microscopes (Olympus BX71) used for optical characterisation of a range of microstructured devices. Also included in this laboratory is a fibre annealing station and Abbe refractometer.

Glass Processing Laboratory

This laboratory supports the growing needs for mechanical processing of glass and crystalline materials by the CUDOS group. Systems available for this purpose include a high temperature oven, diamond face grinder, optical polisher, ultrasonic drill, diamond coring drill, diamond saws and computer controlled wafer dicer. In addition, the laboratory houses laminar flow hoods for miscellaneous processing needs and glove box used for self assembly studies. The laboratory also houses a computer controlled electric field poling station, incorporating a programmable high voltage power supply (Trek 20/20B) and Perspex electrolyte cells, for producing quasi phase matched crystals.

Other Facilities Available to the Centres

The CUDOS group shares a nanosecond laser microfabrication facility incorporating a high power visible laser (Lightwave 18W 532nm laser) and high precision XYZ stages (Aerotech 250x250x250mm and continuous rotation) for laser machining and laser direct write lithography. In addition, members of CUDOS access a Class 35 (US Standard class 1,000) clean room. The facility has been designed to conform with Australian Standard AS1386.1 for non-laminar-flow clean rooms. It includes a mask aligner, scriber, wet-chemical bench, vacuum deposition system and profilometer, meeting our lithographic needs. Access to microanalytical tools is also available in the form of a JEOL analytical SEM and a Weeco 3D Optical Profiler.