Related papers: Fringe Contrast characterization and optimization …
The vortex coronagraph is one of the most promising coronagraphs for high contrast imaging because of its simplicity, small inner working angle, high throughput, and clear off-axis discovery space. However, as with most coronagraphs,…
A cavity ringdown system for probing the spatial variation of optical loss across high-reflectivity mirrors is described. This system is employed to examine substrate-transferred crystalline supermirrors and quantify the effect of…
Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) couple the direction of their spontaneous electric polarization to the direction of tilt of their optic axis. Consequently, reversal of the electric polarization by an electric field gives rise to an…
Femtosecond magneto-optical pump-probe measurements of ultrafast demagnetization show an intriguing difference in the first 100 fs of the magneto-optical Kerr response depending on whether the polarization of the pump and probe beams are in…
We propose a novel method to perform plenoptic imaging at the diffraction limit by measuring second-order correlations of light between two reference planes, arbitrarily chosen, within the tridimensional scene of interest. We show that for…
All coronagraphic instruments for exoplanet high-contrast imaging need wavefront correction systems to reject optical aberrations and create sufficiently dark holes. Since the most efficient wavefront correction algorithms (controllers and…
Coronagraph designs which use photonic integrated circuits have the highest theoretical throughput for off-axis signals, and therefore the highest potential exoplanet yield for future high-contrast direct imaging campaigns. Using the…
A shearing interferometer is presented which uses polarization control to shear the wavefront and to modulate the interference pattern. The shear is generated by spatial walk-off in a birefringent crystal. By adjusting the orientation of…
We present the experimental test of a method for controlling the absolute length of the diagonals of square ring laser gyroscopes. The purpose is to actively stabilize the ring cavity geometry and to enhance the rotation sensor stability in…
We propose a new scheme for ultra-sensitive laser gyroscopes that utilizes the physics of exceptional points. By exploiting the properties of such non-Hermitian degeneracies, we show that the rotation-induced frequency splitting becomes…
Various structures are visible within Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch instrument (SPHERE) images that are not always straightforward to interpret. In this article we present a review of these features and demonstrate…
Interference-fit joints are typically adopted to produce permanent assemblies among mechanical parts. The resulting contact pressure is generally used for element fixing or to allow load transmission. Nevertheless, some special designs take…
A phase-sensitive microscopy technique is proposed and demonstrated that employs the momentum correlations inherent in spontaneous parametric down-conversion. One photon from a correlated pair is focused onto a microscopic target while the…
Future Extremely Large Telescopes will adopt segmented primary mirrors with several hundreds of segments. Cophasing of the segments together is essential to reach high wavefront quality. The phasing sensor must be able to maintain very high…
When x-rays penetrate soft matter, their phase changes more rapidly than their amplitude. In- terference effects visible with high brightness sources creates higher contrast, edge enhanced images. When the object is piecewise smooth (made…
Polarimetric imaging is one of the most effective techniques for high-contrast imaging and characterization of circumstellar environments. These environments can be characterized through direct-imaging polarimetry at near-infrared…
We present the first results from the polarimetry mode of the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), which uses a new integral field polarimetry architecture to provide high contrast linear polarimetry with minimal systematic biases between the…
Interferometers play a crucial role in high-precision displacement measurement such as gravitational-wave detection. Conventional interferometer designs require accurate laser alignment, including the laser pointing and the waist position,…
Direct imaging of exoplanets relies on complex wavefront sensing and control architectures. In addition to fast adaptive optics systems, most of the future high-contrast imaging instruments will soon be equipped with focal plane wavefront…
The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) has been designed for the direct detection and characterization of exoplanets and circumstellar disks. GPI is equipped with a dual channel polarimetry mode designed to take advantage of the inherently…