26th Australian Institute of Physics Congress and the Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics

Session

ANZCOP: Optical Communications & Signal Processing

ANZCOP

7 Dec 2026, 15:45

Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

Conveners

ANZCOP: Optical Communications & Signal Processing

• Sascha Schediwy (University of Western Australia)

29. MHz‑Resolution Terahertz Near‑Field Mapping for High‑Quality Resonators

Dominik Vogt (University of New South Wales)

07/12/2026, 15:45

ANZOS | Photonics and Optics (ANZCOP)

Invited talk

High-quality terahertz resonators are key enablers of enhanced light–matter interaction in the terahertz domain. This enhancement underpins improved sensitivity and reduced detection limits in sensing and spectroscopy, as well as more efficient nonlinear mixing between optical and terahertz signals for telecommunications. However, the design of high‑Q terahertz resonators remains largely...

630. An Update on the Pyxis/SEIRIOS Inter-spacecraft Metrology System

Anika Chan (Australian National University)

07/12/2026, 16:15

ANZOS | Photonics and Optics (ANZCOP)

Contributed Oral

Space telescopes consisting of multiple formation flying satellites are of growing interest to the astronomical instrumentation community, since they enable effective telescope apertures beyond what is physically feasible on Earth. Recently, successful deployment of the GRACE mission laser-ranging instrument and technical
developments for the LISA gravitational wave mission have demonstrated...

342. Inverse Terahertz Reflection Analysis of Hydration-Dependent Permittivity and Thickness in Soft Contact Lenses

Daniel Tobar (The University of Western Australia)

07/12/2026, 16:30

ANZOS | Photonics and Optics (ANZCOP)

Contributed Oral

The performance of soft contact lenses is strongly linked to their hydration dynamics; however, non-contact measurement of hydration in thin hydrated materials remains challenging. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is highly sensitive to the dielectric relaxation of water, making it a promising tool for probing hydration-dependent changes in soft polymeric materials. However,...

666. Developing Concepts for a Relay Network to Support Optical Communications in Cislunar Space

Jackie Scholes (The Australian National University)

07/12/2026, 16:45

ANZOS | Photonics and Optics (ANZCOP)

Contributed Oral

Recent spaceflight missions such as NASA's Artemis program have heralded a renewed interest in lunar scientific research and exploration. To facilitate these activities, near-future lunar missions will require several times more bandwidth than is currently provided by traditional radio frequency (RF) communications. Free space optical communications (FSOC) presents itself as a viable...

522. Towards a flight-ready Scale Factor Unit for space-based laser interferometric missions

Emily Rose Rees

07/12/2026, 17:00

ANZOS | Photonics and Optics (ANZCOP)

Contributed Oral

The GRACE-Continuity mission (a joint U.S.-German partnership) is expected to launch in 2028 and will continue the legacy of the GRACE missions by providing critical measurements of Earth mass change over time. The spacecraft use interferometry to sense the changes in satellite separation, which can be used to infer the local gravity field. This science data underpins knowledge of large-scale...