Integrated photonic-based coronagraphic systems for future space telescopes
Abstract
The detection and characterization of Earth-like exoplanets around Sun-like stars is a primary science motivation for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. However, the current best technology is not yet advanced enough to reach the 10^-10 contrasts at close angular separations and at the same time remain insensitive to low-order aberrations, as would be required to achieve high-contrast imaging of exo-Earths. Photonic technologies could fill this gap, potentially doubling exo-Earth yield. We review current work on photonic coronagraphs and investigate the potential of hybridized designs which combine both classical coronagraph designs and photonic technologies into a single optical system. We present two possible systems. First, a hybrid solution which splits the field of view spatially such that the photonics handle light within the inner working angle and a conventional coronagraph that suppresses starlight outside it. Second, a hybrid solution where the conventional coronagraph and photonics operate in series, complementing each other and thereby loosening requirements on each subsystem. As photonic technologies continue to advance, a hybrid or fully photonic coronagraph holds great potential for future exoplanet imaging from space.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2309.04925,
title = {Integrated photonic-based coronagraphic systems for future space telescopes},
author = {Niyati Desai and Lorenzo König and Emiel Por and Roser Juanola-Parramon and Ruslan Belikov and Iva Laginja and Olivier Guyon and Laurent Pueyo and Kevin Fogarty and Olivier Absil and Lisa Altinier and Pierre Baudoz and Alexis Bidot and Markus Johannes Bonse and Kimberly Bott and Bernhard Brandl and Alexis Carlotti and Sarah L. Casewell and Elodie Choquet and Nicolas B. Cowan and David Doelman and J. Fowler and Timothy D. Gebhard and Yann Gutierrez and Sebastiaan Y. Haffert and Olivier Herscovici-Schiller and Adrien Hours and Matthew Kenworthy and Elina Kleisioti and Mariya Krasteva and Rico Landman and Lucie Leboulleux and Johan Mazoyer and Maxwell A. Millar-Blanchaer and David Mouillet and Mamadou NDiaye and Frans Snik and Dirk van Dam and Kyle van Gorkom and Maaike van Kooten and Sophia R. Vaughan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.04925},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
Conference Proceedings of SPIE: Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680 (2023)