New concepts in vector-apodizing phase plate coronagraphy

Steven P. Bos; David S. Doelman; Kelsey L. Miller; Frans Snik

doi:10.1117/12.2562183

13 December 2020 New concepts in vector-apodizing phase plate coronagraphy

Steven P. Bos, David S. Doelman, Kelsey L. Miller, Frans Snik

Proceedings Volume 11448, Adaptive Optics Systems VII; 114483W (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562183
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Conference Poster

Abstract

The vector-Apodizing Phase Plate (vAPP) is a pupil-plane coronagraph that manipulates phase to create darkholes in the stellar PSF. The phase is induced on the circular polarization states through the inherently achromatic geometric phase by spatially varying the fast axis orientation of a half-wave liquid-crystal layer. The two polarized PSFs can be separated, either by a quarter-wave plate (QWP) followed by a polarizing beamsplitter (PBS) for broadband operation, or a polarization sensitive grating (PSG) for narrowband or IFS operation. Here we present new vAPP concepts that lift the restrictions of previous designs and report on their performance. We demonstrated that the QWP+PBS combination puts tight tolerances on the components to prevent leakage of non-coronagraphic light into the dark-hole. We present a new broadband design using an innovative two-stage patterned liquid-crystal element system based on multi-color holography, alleviating the leakage problem and relaxing manufacturing tolerances. Furthermore, we have shown that focal-plane wavefront sensing (FPWFS) can be integrated into the vAPP by an asymmetric pupil. However, such vAPPs suffer from a reduced throughput and have only been demonstrated with a PSG in narrowband operation. We present advanced designs that maintain throughput and enable phase and amplitude wavefront sensing. We also present broadband vAPP FPWFS designs and outline a broadband FPWFS algorithm. Finally, previous dual-beam vAPP designs for sensitive polarimetry with one-sided dark holes were very complex. We show new dual-beam designs that significantly reduce the complexity.

Citation Download Citation

Steven P. Bos, David S. Doelman, Kelsey L. Miller, and Frans Snik "New concepts in vector-apodizing phase plate coronagraphy", Proc. SPIE 11448, Adaptive Optics Systems VII, 114483W (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562183

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