We propose a focal-plane wavefront sensor (FPWFS) based on a short multimode fiber (MMF) capable of operating under moderately broadband illumination. By coupling the aberrated focal-plane field into an MMF of length <1 cm, we preserve modal interference over a 10 nm bandwidth at near-infrared wavelengths. The resulting output intensity pattern encodes pupil phase information, enabling wavefront recovery via a neural network. Our approach resolves the inherent sign ambiguity of even pupil-phase aberrations and operates on millisecond timescales using readily available computing hardware, suitable for real-time adaptive optics. Unlike traditional pupil-plane sensors, the proposed FPWFS shares the optical path with the science beam, eliminating non-common-path aberrations by enabling simultaneous wavefront and focal-plane intensity retrieval. Its simplicity, compactness, sensitivity, and low cost make it an attractive candidate for next-generation astronomical instruments.
@article{arxiv.2510.03058,
title = {Focal-plane wavefront sensing with moderately broadband light using a short multi-mode fiber},
author = {Auxiliadora Padrón-Brito and Natalia Arteaga-Marrero and Ian Cunnyngham and Jeff Kuhn},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.03058},
year = {2026}
}