Related papers: A diamond AGPM coronagraph for VISIR
AFM-based technique of nanolithography is proposed. The method enables rapid point by point indentation with a sharp tip. When used in tandem with single-crystal diamond tips, this technique allows the creation of high aspect ratio grooves…
The WFIRST-AFTA 2.4 m telescope will provide in the next decade the opportunity to host a coronagraph for the imaging and spectroscopy of planets and disks. The telescope, however, is not ideal, given its obscured aperture. Only recently…
The specification of polishing requirements for the optics in coronagraphs dedicated to exo-planet detection requires careful and accurate optical modelling. Numerical representations of the propagation of aberrations through the system as…
High-contrast imaging and spectroscopy provide unique constraints for exoplanet formation models as well as for planetary atmosphere models. Instrumentation techniques in this field have greatly improved over the last two decades, with the…
Direct imaging and spectroscopy of Earth-like planets and young Jupiters require contrasts up to 10^6-10^10 at angular separations of a few dozen milliarcseconds. To achieve this goal, one of the most promising approaches consists of using…
The increasing complexity of the aperture geometry of the future space- and ground based-telescopes will limit the performance of the next generation of coronagraphic instruments for high contrast imaging of exoplanets. We propose here a…
Gaussian aperture pupil masks (GAPMs) can in theory achieve the contrast requisite for directly imaging an extrasolar planet around a nearby solar type star. We outline the process of designing, fabricating, and testing a GAPM for use on…
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) quantum defects in diamond are sensitive detectors of magnetic fields. Due to their atomic size and optical readout capability, they have been used for magnetic resonance spectroscopy of nanoscale samples on diamond…
The creation of nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond is nowadays well controlled using nitrogen implantation and annealing. Although the high-resolution placement of NV centres has been demonstrated using either collimation through pierced…
The vector vortex coronagraph is an instrument designed for direct detection and spectroscopy of exoplanets over a broad spectral range. Our team is working towards demonstrating contrast performance commensurate with imaging temperate,…
High-contrast coronagraphy will be needed to image and characterize faint extra-solar planetary systems. Coronagraphy is a rapidly evolving field, and many enhanced alternatives to the classical Lyot coronagraph have been proposed in the…
One promising application of photonics to astronomical instrumentation is the miniaturization of near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers for large ground- and space-based astronomical telescopes. Here we present new results from our effort to…
Several Extreme Adaptive Optics (XAO) systems dedicated to the detection and characterisation of the exoplanets are currently in operation for 8-10 meter class telescopes. Coronagraphs are commonly used in these facilities to reject the…
Precise and high efficiency concentration of mid-infrared (mid-IR) light into sub wavelength volumes is essential for probing low-energy excitations and achieving strong field enhancements, which can be hindered by absorption losses and…
Advancing the technological development of small inner working angle (IWA) coronagraphs is essential to enabling high-contrast imaging of temperate exoplanets with future extremely large telescopes. The PIAACMC has been shown to closely…
Coronagraph instruments on future space telescopes will enable the direct detection and characterization of Earth-like exoplanets around Sun-like stars for the first time. The quest for the optimal optical coronagraph designs has made rapid…
The evanescent wave coronagraph uses the principle of frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) to suppress the light coming from the star and study its close environment. Its focal plane mask is composed of a lens and a prism placed in…
Less than 3% of the known exoplanets were directly imaged for two main reasons. They are angularly very close to their parent star, which is several magnitudes brighter. Direct imaging of exoplanets thus requires a dedicated instrumentation…
In the present work we report about a parallel-processing ion beam fabrication technique whereby high-density sub-superficial graphitic microstructures can be created in diamond. Ion beam implantation is an effective tool for the structural…
The detection of molecular species in the atmospheres of earth-like exoplanets orbiting nearby stars requires an optical system that suppresses starlight and maximizes the sensitivity to the weak planet signals at small angular separations.…