An optical vortex coronagraph

David M. Palacios

doi:10.1117/12.617900

14 September 2005 An optical vortex coronagraph

David M. Palacios

Proceedings Volume 5905, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets II; 59050N (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.617900
Event: Optics and Photonics 2005, 2005, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

An optical vortex may be characterized as a dark core of destructive interference in a beam of spatially coherent light. This dark core may be used as a filter to attenuate a coherent beam of light so an incoherent background signal may be detected. Applications of such a filter include: eye and sensor protection, forward-scattered light measurement, and the detection of extra-solar planets. Optical vortices may be created by passing a beam of light through a vortex diffractive optical element, which is a plate of glass etched with a spiral pattern, such that the thickness of the glass increases in the azimuthal direction. An optical vortex coronagraph may be constructed by placing a vortex diffractive optical element near the image plane of a telescope. An optical vortex coronagraph opens a dark window in the glare of a distant star so nearby terrestrial sized planets and exo-zodiacal dust may be detected. An optical vortex coronagraph may hold several advantages over other techniques presently being developed for high contrast imaging, such as lower aberration sensitivity and multi-wavelength operation. In this manuscript, I will discuss the aberration sensitivity of an optical vortex coronagraph and the key advantages it may hold over other coronagraph architectures. I will also provide numerical simulations demonstrating high contrast imaging in the presence of low-order static aberrations.

Citation Download Citation

David M. Palacios "An optical vortex coronagraph", Proc. SPIE 5905, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets II, 59050N (14 September 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.617900

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available