From brain-mimicking circuits to self-healing sewers, Australian researchers are building the tangible technologies they once only envisioned.
Across Australia, university researchers are pushing work well beyond the theoretical. Their questions demand fabrication, measurement and validation at scales where precision matters and results must endure scrutiny. Progress depends on the ability to make things, interrogate how they behave and assess whether they survive outside controlled conditions. Access to ANFF’s facilities and technical expertise gives researchers that ability and allows demanding ideas to be brought to life rather than merely proposed.
The ANFF‑supported research projects featured below show how individual research teams put that that amazing resource to work.
Circuits that Remember: Australian National University researchers are advancing neuromorphic computing by creating solid‑state electronics that mimic the way the brain works. Charged Trap Transistors (CTT) combine memory and switching capabilities within a single nanoscale component, retaining information even without power – a vital feature for memory. The team’s CTT technology holds electrons in isolated insulator regions that influence the transistor’s conductivity. Supported by ANFF‑ACT, these transistors will enable faster, more energy‑efficient computing systems that mimic brain‑like information handling, pushing the boundaries of how future systems will store and process information.
Self‑healing Sewers: In sewer systems, microbial activity generates elevated levels of CO₂, which accelerates the corrosion of concrete sewer pipes. Researchers at Adelaide University are enhancing concrete durability by improving its self‑healing capability. The team engineered capsules from water treatment sludge combined with calcium hydroxide and expansive agents and incorporated them into cement mixtures. ANFF‑SA assisted with characterisation analyses. The capsules triggered crack closure through carbonation and chemical reactions, closing cracks over 90% within 28 days and significantly improving water tightness, demonstrating strengthened performance for sewer environments.
On‑the‑Spot Clot Check: When injury or inflammation occurs, platelets activate and bind with fibrin to form a mesh‑like clot that stops bleeding. As platelets interact and pull on fibrin strands, the clot contracts. Impaired contraction can block vessels and increase the risk of thromboembolism, especially in patients on mechanical circulatory support. A novel point‑of‑care microfluidic sensor to rapidly assess clot contraction is being developed by University of Sydney researchers, with fabrication support from ANFF‑NSW. The sensor delivers fast and reliable data to help clinicians catch dangerous embolisms early and tailor medications for successful treatment.
Atomic Pocket Watch: Adelaide University’s Portable Atomic Clocks team, in partnership with the Defence Science and Technology Group, is developing compact optical atomic clocks for field deployment. By locking a stable laser to the precise frequency of an atomic transition, the device uses the energy difference between two atomic levels as a reference for extraordinarily accurate timekeeping – up to 200 times more precise than current standards. Custom components for the clocks were fabricated at ANFF‑OptoFab Adelaide, including work with challenging materials like quartz and glass‑ceramics, delivering cutting‑edge performance where precision matters most.
Nanopyramids Worship the Sun: As silicon solar cells get thinner to save materials and boost voltage, smarter ways are needed to capture more sunlight. One promising method uses photonic crystal structures – tiny patterns that bend and trap light using wave effects. A Swinburne University team led by Saulius Juodkazis is using laser techniques to create inverted pyramid patterns on high‑performance solar cells, showing that these methods work with advanced designs. Supported by a Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication Nanotech Ambassador project, this research is helping shape the future of solar technology.
Scanning with Confidence: Can image features extracted from medical PET scans be trusted even when scan settings vary? Joel Poder at St George Hospital used ANFF‑Materials’ 3D‑printed phantoms – transparent structures filled with a radioactive tracer that simulate the shapes and textures of real tumours – to perform PET scans under varied acquisition and processing conditions. The realistic tumour‑like structures in the phantoms were reliably scanned even when instrument settings changed. Custom‑designed phantoms can test conditions across multiple hospitals before running large studies, ensuring that the advanced data pulled from PET scans is trustworthy.
ANFF supports these groundbreaking projects by providing the infrastructure and technical expertise researchers draw on as their questions evolve. As new challenges emerge and ideas push into unfamiliar territory, continued access to advanced fabrication and characterisation removes the limits on what researchers can attempt next – and how far they are able to take it.
This article is republished with adaptation from the 2025 ANFF Casebook.
Posted 8 May 2026