
Dr Chris Perrella
Grant-Funded Researcher (B)
School of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
My research aims to push the limits of precision measurement for both fundamental and applied research by exploiting high-resolution atomic spectroscopy, implementation of new experimental techniques, and a detailed understanding of light-atom interactions. Liaising with industry and defence has made my research have real-world impact through development of measurement devices for use outside the laboratory. I have supervised the development of a number of experiments: compact high-stability optical clock, an optical magnetometer, and high-resolution molecular spectroscopy, and atomic spectroscopy within hollow core fibre using both warm and laser cooled atomic vapours.
I was awarded my PhD almost in 2014 from the University of Western Australia. After submission of my thesis, I accepted a University Research Associate position at the University of Adelaide within the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS).
- My Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
Please see my research group's website.
Current projects include:
- Compact High-Stability Optical Clock: We have developed an optical clock based on a two-photon transition within rubidium which is performing at the same level as the best commercially available frequency standard (the Hydrogen maser), while being 10-fold smaller and lighter. This is possible through a new laser interrogation scheme that we have pioneered using two different colour photons to excite the two-photon transition, leading to an increase excitation efficiency of a million-fold. This technology is breaking the nexus between size, weight and performance of optical clocks.
- Optical Magnetometry: We are developing two optical magnetometers for defence and industry applications. We developed a novel measurement scheme using an electro-optic frequency comb which we used to simultaneously observe for the first time the Larmor precession of rubidium atoms in both the temporal and spectral domains. This allowed the first direct estimate of the relative density of polarized atoms in the vapor cell, as well as a measurement of the quality of the antirelaxation coating on the cell walls. We have pioneered techniques to greatly increase the bandwidth of DC atomic magnetometers broadening their practical applications.
- High-Resolution Molecular Spectroscopy: We have been developing a trace gas spectrometer based on a laser frequency comb light source and high precision absorption measurement. We use novel techniques to measure the absorption of different comb modes using a Virtually Imaged Phase Array (VIPA) spectrometer which has demonstrated a measurement accuracy of 1% and a precision of 0.04% and analysis cycle of less than 1s for measurement of the number density of Carbon Dioxide. We demonstrated for the first time, precision measurement of 12C16O2 and 13C16O2, at 0.03% and 1.24% respectively. This measurement technique is also verified to be highly linear for concentrations ranging over three orders of magnitude. We are now using this novel technique and applying it to biological samples, such as Carbon Dioxide produced from yeast, leading up to measurements of biomarkers in exhaled breath for medical diagnostic applications.
- Non-Linear Spectroscopy: I was the first to show strong light-light interactions within large-diameter hollow-core fibre, achieved through exciting a two-photon atomic transition of the atoms. To measure this effect, I developed a novel measurement technique that efficiently removed deleterious background signals that would otherwise obscure the measurements. I presented detailed characterisation of this interaction showing the efficiency of the interaction and the limits of operation. Such an investigation of operational conditions had not been presented before. This knowledge of non-linear atomic transitions was also applied to generation of metastable krypton (Kr) in the long-lived 1s5 state using two-photon laser excitation at 215nm in which a production efficiency of > 1% per laser pulse was demonstrated. This work yielded the only experimental measurement of the ground 2p6 cross section in Kr.
- Detailed understanding of fibre effects on atomic spectroscopy: The confined geometry of a hollow-core fibre generates deleterious broadening mechanisms on the atomic transitions, thus reducing the effective strength of the desirable light-light interactions. I was the first to present high-resolution spectroscopy of broadened spectra and theoretical modelling explaining its origin in multiple hollow-core fibres. These broadening processes were further explored in the extreme case of excitation within evanescent fields from novel micro-structured fibre developed at IPAS, named Exposed Core Fibres. I presented for the first time detailed experimental measurement of the effect of transit-time broadening supported by theoretical modelling in this extreme situation.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2013 - 2021 University Postdoctoral Fellow University of Adelaide -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2019 Award Best Poster Prize, Quantum Sensing & Magnetometry Physikzentrum, Bad Honnef Germany - 2011 Scholarship Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship Australian Government Australia - 2009 Scholarship University Postgraduate Award Scholarship University of Western Australia Australia - -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2009 - 2013 University of Western Australia Australia PhD 2008 - 2008 University of Western Australia Australia B.Sc. (Hons) 2005 - 2007 University of Western Australia Australia B.Sc. -
Research Interests
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Journals
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Conference Papers
Year Citation 2020 Karim, F., Scholten, S. K., Perrella, C., & Luiten, A. N. (2020). Measuring Thermodynamic Properties of Gas Molecules with a High-Resolution Frequency Comb Spectrometer. In 2020 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Pacific Rim, CLEO-PR 2020 - Proceedings (pp. 1-2). online: OSA/IEEE.
2019 Wilson, N., Li, R., Perrella, C., Light, P., Anderson, R., & Luiten, A. (2019). A high-bandwidth atomic magnetometer. In Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering Vol. 11200 (pp. 1-2). online: SPIE.
Scopus1 WoS12019 Scholten, S. K., Whitaker-Lockwood, J., Perrella, C., Karim, F., & Luiten, A. N. (2019). High-resolution molecular spectroscopy and biological applications. In Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering Vol. 11200 (pp. 1-3). online: SPIE.
2019 Rowland, J., Light, P. S., Luiten, A. N., Perrella, C., & Sparkes, B. M. (2019). Injection locking of a pulsed VCSEL. In Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering Vol. 11200 (pp. 1-3). online: SPIE.
2018 Truong, G., Scholten, S., Karim, F., Anstie, J., Perrella, C., Light, P., . . . Luiten, A. (2018). Measuring temperature with atoms and molecules. In Proceedings of the CLEO: Science and Innovations 2018 Vol. Part F94-CLEO_SI 2018 (pp. 1-2). San Jose, California: OSA Publishing.
2018 Heffernan, L., Holmes, Z., Inglis, J., Shearer, N., Shaddock, D., Roberts, L., . . . Luiten, A. (2018). Target acquisition and tracking of extremely long distance targets using multiple risley prism systems. In Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC Vol. 2018-October (pp. 5225-5232). USA: International Astronautical Federation, IAF. 2014 Perrella, C., Anstie, J., Light, P., Benabid, F., White, A., & Luiten, A. (2014). Hollow-core fibre frequency standard. In Proceedings 2014 IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (pp. 61). Taipei, Taiwan: IEEE Computer Society.
2014 Perrella, C., Anstie, J., Light, P., Benabid, F., Stace, T., White, A. G., & Luiten, A. N. (2014). Fibre-atom optics: a platform for frequency stabilization and quantum information applications. In Proceedings of the 2014 OptoElectronics and Communication Conference and Australian Conference on Optical Fibre Technology (OECC/ACOFT 2014) (pp. 656-657). Melbourne, Victoria: IEEE Computer Society. 2012 Stace, T., Perrella, C., Light, P., Benabid, F., & Luiten, A. (2012). Observation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in Rb-filled hollow-core fibre. In Research in Optical Sciences, as publshed in Optics InfoBase Conference Papers (pp. QW3B.3-1-QW3B.3-3). Berlin, Germany: Optical Society of America.
2011 Perrella, C., Light, P., Luiten, A., Benabid, F., & Stace, T. (2011). High resolution optical spectroscopy in hollow core fibre for use in atomic clocks. In Proceedings of the International Quantum Electronics Conference and Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Pacific Rim 2011 (pp. 851-853). Sydney, Australia: Optical Society of America.
2010 Lurie, A., Locke, C. R., Perrella, C., Light, P. S., Benabid, F., & Luiten, A. N. (2010). Towards a compact optical fibre clock. In CPEM Digest (Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements) (pp. 16-17). Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA: IEEE.
Scopus1 WoS1 -
Media
Year Citation - Perrella, C., Sparkes, B., Janvier, E., & Lincoln, P. (n.d.). Laser Radio.
Over the last 6 years, this now means that he has had 21 awarded grant applications worth $3.0M, with $757k as Lead Investigator and $2.2M as Co-Investigator.
Date | Project | Investigators | Funding Body | Amount |
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2020 – 2021 |
Demonstration of a Two-Photon Atomic Clock with Light Shift Suppression using Two-Colour Magic Wavelengths |
C. Perrella, A.N. Luiten, S. Scholten, J. Ginges |
Asian Office of Aerospace R&D, Air Force Office of Scientific Research |
$131,081 |
2020 – 2023 |
Prototyping a Low-Noise Scalar Magnetometer |
R. Li, C. Perrella, A.N. Luiten |
CSIRO - Science & Industry Endowment Fund, STEM+ Business Research Fellowship |
$590,987 |
2020 – 2023 |
BreathELISA: Breath analysis for detection of disease |
A.N. Luiten, C. Perrella, J. Verjans, R. Yazbek |
Asian Office of Aerospace R&D, Air Force Office of Scientific Research |
$102,324 |
2019 |
Development of a low-noise scalar magnetometer |
C. Perrella, R. Li |
University Research Contract |
$83,100 |
2019 – 2020 |
Demonstrating a Magic Interrogation Approach for a Two-Photon Atomic Clock |
A.N. Luiten, C. Perrella |
Asian Office of Aerospace R&D, Air Force Office of Scientific Research |
$138,187 |
2019 – 2021 |
Packaging a Quantum Magnetometer Array for Anti-Submarine Warfare |
A.N. Luiten, C. Perrella, P. Light |
Defence Science and Technology Group – NGTF - Quantum Technologies |
$455,925 |
2019 – 2020 |
Quantum Simulations with Stationary Light in Hollow Fibres |
B. Sparkes, A.N. Luiten, C. Perrella, P. Light, J. Hedger, P. Windpassinger, P. Islam, W. Li |
Australia-Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme |
$22,480 |
2019 |
Development of a low-noise magnetometer |
A.N. Luiten, C. Perrella |
Innovation Connections - Department of Industry, Innovation and Science |
$100,000 |
2018 |
High-performance optical clock for next-generation precision timing |
C. Perrella |
Bridging Grant - Global Connections Fund |
$50,000 |
2018 |
Advanced Fibre Optic Magnetometer for Anti-Submarine Warfare |
A.N. Luiten, P. Light, C. Perrella |
Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group |
$100,000 |
2017 |
High-performance optical clock for next-generation precision timing |
C. Perrella |
Priming Grant - The Global Connections Fund |
$7,000 |
2017 |
High-Performance Optical Clock for Local Time References and UAV applications |
C. Perrella |
Competitive Evaluation Research Agreement (CERA) - Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group's |
$100,000 |
2016 |
Advanced Fibre Optic Magnetometer for Anti-Submarine Warfare |
A.N. Luiten, P. Light, C. Perrella |
Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group |
$100,000 |
2015 |
Demonstrating Spatially Resolved Corrosion Detection |
C. Perrella, P. Light, R. Kostecki |
IPAS Pilot Project - The Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) |
$13,350 |
2014 |
UV-guiding silica hollow-core fibre for biological sensing |
P. Light, C. Perrella |
IPAS Pilot Project - The Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) |
$15,000 |
2014 |
Micro-Machining Exposed Core Fibre: Taking Sensing to the Next Level |
C. Perrella, C. Ironside, P. Light |
IPAS Pilot Project - The Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) |
$17,000 |
2013 |
High-Performance Portable Optical Clock |
C. Perrella |
Commercial Accelerator Scheme – Adelaide Research & Innovation |
$100,000 |
2013 |
High-Performance Portable Optical Clock |
C. Perrella |
Dennis Harwood Grant – IPAS |
$25,000 |
I am passionate about communicating the fun and excitement of science to the next generation of scientists. I strive to provide students with the best possible educational experience and outcome.
Recent teaching:
- 2nd Year – Physics IIB – Optics (2020 - 2021)
- 3rd Year – Optics and Photonics III (2019 – 2021)
- Honours Year – Non-Linear Optics (2020 - 2022)
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2023 Co-Supervisor High precision metrology using laser speckle. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Gabriel Britto Monteiro 2023 Co-Supervisor Enhanced optical microscopy for biology using quantum and classical approaches. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Zane Quess Peterkovic 2023 Co-Supervisor Studies of levitated optomechanics using trapped particles Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Aman Anil Punse 2021 Principal Supervisor Compact Clock for Small Satellite Applications: Protocol Development for Increased Stability Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Emily Jane Ahern -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2016 - 2019 Co-Supervisor High-Resolution Molecular Spectroscopy with an Optical Frequency Comb Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Sarah Katherine Scholten 2015 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Nonlinear Magneto-Optical Rotation in Rubidium Vapour Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Nathanial Morgan Wilson 2015 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Cold-Atom Loading of Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fibre for Quantum Technologies Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Ashby Hilton -
Other Supervision Activities
Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name 2020 - 2020 Principal Supervisor High Bandwidth Optical Magnetometry University of Adelaide Physics Honours Full Time Kyle Netz 2019 - 2019 Principal Supervisor Building and Characterising a Miniaturised Optical Magnetometer Sensor Head University of Adelaide Physics Honours Full Time Anna Louise Lykke 2018 - 2018 Principal Supervisor Compact Two-Photon Rubidium Clock University of Adelaide Physics Honours Part Time Ben White 2018 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Acquisition and Tracking using Dual Risley Prism Beam Steering University of Adelaide Mechanical Engineering Honours Full Time Jayden Inglis 2018 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Acquisition and Tracking using Dual Risley Prism Beam Steering University of Adelaide Mechanical Engineering Honours Full Time Luke Heffernan 2018 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Acquisition and Tracking using Dual Risley Prism Beam Steering University of Adelaide Mechanical Engineering Honours Full Time Zachary Holmes 2018 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Acquisition and Tracking using Dual Risley Prism Beam Steering University of Adelaide Mechanical Engineering Honours Full Time Nathaniel Shearer 2017 - 2017 Principal Supervisor Quantum Memories in Rubidium Filled Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fibre University of Adelaide Physics Honours Full Time Jed Rowland 2016 - 2016 Co-Supervisor Determining Natural Gas Composition Using Frequency Comb Spectroscopy University of Adelaide Petroleum Engineering Honours Full Time Shayan Afshar 2016 - 2016 Co-Supervisor Determining Natural Gas Composition Using Frequency Comb Spectroscopy University of Adelaide Petroleum Engineering Honours Full Time Gianraffaele Moffa 2014 - 2014 Principal Supervisor Rubidium spectroscopy with exposed core fibre University of Adelaide Physics Honours Full Time Hannes Griesser
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Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2020 - ongoing Member South Australia AIP Branch Committee Australian Institute of Physics Australia -
Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2014 - ongoing Member Australian Optical Society Australia 2014 - ongoing Member Optical Society of America United States
Connect With Me
External Profiles