High-charge and multiple-star vortex coronagraphy from stacked vector vortex phase masks

Artur Aleksanyan (1) , Etienne Brasselet (1)

1 LOMA - Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d'Aquitaine

Optical vortex phase masks are now installed at many ground-based large telescopes for high-contrast astronomical imaging. To date, such instrumental advances have been restricted to the use of helical phase masks of the lowest even order, while future giant telescopes will require high-order masks. Here we propose a single-stage on-axis scheme to create high-order vortex coronagraphs based on second-order vortex phase masks. By extending our approach to an off-axis design, we also explore the implementation of multiple-star vortex coronagraphy. An experimental laboratory demonstration is reported and supported by numerical simulations. These results offer a practical roadmap to the development of future coronagraphic tools with enhanced performances.

Mots clés: Spatial filtering; Optical vortices; Astronomical optics

Domaines: Optique [physics.optics]

Artur Aleksanyan, Etienne Brasselet. High-charge and multiple-star vortex coronagraphy from stacked vector vortex phase masks. Optics Letters, 2018, 43 (3), pp.383-386. ⟨10.1364/OL.43.000383⟩. ⟨hal-01721471⟩