High performance 3D waveguide architecture for astronomical pupil-remapping interferometry

Simon Gross*, Barnaby R. Norris, Nick Cvetojevic, Nemanja Jovanovic, Alexander Arriola, Paul N. Stewart, Jon S. Lawrence, Michael J. Withford, Peter G. Tuthill

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Here we demonstrate a new generation of photonic pupil-remapping devices which build upon the interferometric framework developed for the Dragonfly instrument: a high contrast waveguide-based device which recovers robust complex visibility observables. New generation Dragonfly devices overcome problems caused by interference from unguided light and low throughput, promising unprecedented on-sky performance. Closure phase measurement scatter of only similar to 0.2 degrees has been achieved, with waveguide throughputs of > 70%. This translates to a maximum contrast-ratio sensitivity (between the host star and its orbiting planet) at 1 lambda/D (1 sigma detection) of 5.3x10(-4) (when a conventional adaptive-optics (AO) system is used) or 1.8x10(-4) (for typical 'extreme-AO' performance), improving even further when random error is minimised by averaging over multiple exposures. This is an order of magnitude beyond conventional pupil-segmenting interferometry techniques (such as aperture masking), allowing a previously inaccessible part of the star to planet contrast-separation parameter space to be explored.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationOptical and Infrared Interferometry IV
EditorsJK Rajagopal, MJ CreechEakman, F Malbet
Place of PublicationBellingham
PublisherSPIE
Number of pages12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
EventConference on Optical and Infrared Interferometry IV - Montreal, Canada
Duration: 23 Jun 201427 Jun 2014

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE
PublisherSPIE
Volume9146
ISSN (Print)0277-786X

Conference

ConferenceConference on Optical and Infrared Interferometry IV
Country/TerritoryCanada
Period23/06/1427/06/14

Keywords

  • Interferometry
  • Pupil re-mapping
  • Direct exoplanet imaging
  • Waveguides
  • Photonics
  • INTEGRATED-OPTICS
  • INSTRUMENT
  • SELECTION
  • CIRCUITS
  • PLANETS
  • VLT

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