Characterization of low-mass deformable mirrors and ASIC drivers for high-contrast imaging

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Yao ◽  
Yuqian Wu ◽  
Lewis C. Roberts ◽  
Xingtao Wu ◽  
Camilo Mejia Prada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deformable Mirrors ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
High Contrast Imaging ◽  
Low Mass

scholarly journals MEMS Deformable Mirrors for Space-Based High-Contrast Imaging

Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel E. Morgan ◽  
Ewan S. Douglas ◽  
Gregory W. Allan ◽  
Paul Bierden ◽  
Supriya Chakrabarti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Space Environment ◽  
Optical Systems ◽  
Sounding Rocket ◽  
Deformable Mirrors ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
Wavefront Control ◽  
High Contrast Imaging

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Deformable Mirrors (DMs) enable precise wavefront control for optical systems. This technology can be used to meet the extreme wavefront control requirements for high contrast imaging of exoplanets with coronagraph instruments. MEMS DM technology is being demonstrated and developed in preparation for future exoplanet high contrast imaging space telescopes, including the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission which supported the development of a 2040 actuator MEMS DM. In this paper, we discuss ground testing results and several projects which demonstrate the operation of MEMS DMs in the space environment. The missions include the Planet Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment (PICTURE) sounding rocket (launched 2011), the Planet Imaging Coronagraphic Technology Using a Reconfigurable Experimental Base (PICTURE-B) sounding rocket (launched 2015), the Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment - Coronagraph (PICTURE-C) high altitude balloon (expected launch 2019), the High Contrast Imaging Balloon System (HiCIBaS) high altitude balloon (launched 2018), and the Deformable Mirror Demonstration Mission (DeMi) CubeSat mission (expected launch late 2019). We summarize results from the previously flown missions and objectives for the missions that are next on the pad. PICTURE had technical difficulties with the sounding rocket telemetry system. PICTURE-B demonstrated functionality at >100 km altitude after the payload experienced 12-g RMS (Vehicle Level 2) test and sounding rocket launch loads. The PICTURE-C balloon aims to demonstrate 10 - 7 contrast using a vector vortex coronagraph, image plane wavefront sensor, and a 952 actuator MEMS DM. The HiClBaS flight experienced a DM cabling issue, but the 37-segment hexagonal piston-tip-tilt DM is operational post-flight. The DeMi mission aims to demonstrate wavefront control to a precision of less than 100 nm RMS in space with a 140 actuator MEMS DM.

High contrast imaging with MEMS deformable mirrors in the Decadal Survey Testbed

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Eldorado Riggs ◽  
Garreth Ruane ◽  
Camilo A. Mejia Prada ◽  
David S. Marx ◽  
Byoung-Joon Seo
Keyword(s):  
Deformable Mirrors ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
High Contrast Imaging

scholarly journals Characterization of a photon counting EMCCD for space-based high contrast imaging spectroscopy of extrasolar planets

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlee N. Wilkins ◽  
Michael W. McElwain ◽  
Timothy J. Norton ◽  
Bernie J. Rauscher ◽  
Johannes F. Rothe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extrasolar Planets ◽  
Imaging Spectroscopy ◽  
Photon Counting ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
High Contrast Imaging

Demonstration of symmetric dark holes using two deformable mirrors at the high-contrast imaging testbed

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Eldorado Riggs ◽  
Tyler D. Groff ◽  
Alexis Carlotti ◽  
N. Jeremy Kasdin ◽  
Eric J. Cady ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deformable Mirrors ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
High Contrast Imaging

scholarly journals Astrometric and photometric accuracies in high contrast imaging: The SPHERE speckle calibration tool (SpeCal)

2018 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. A92 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Galicher ◽  
A. Boccaletti ◽  
D. Mesa ◽  
P. Delorme ◽  
R. Gratton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circumstellar Disks ◽  
Observation Time ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Large Telescope ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
High Contrast Imaging ◽  
Very Large Telescope ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Calibration Tool

Context. The consortium of the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch installed at the Very Large Telescope (SPHERE/VLT) has been operating its guaranteed observation time (260 nights over five years) since February 2015. The main part of this time (200 nights) is dedicated to the detection and characterization of young and giant exoplanets on wide orbits. Aims. The large amount of data must be uniformly processed so that accurate and homogeneous measurements of photometry and astrometry can be obtained for any source in the field. Methods. To complement the European Southern Observatory pipeline, the SPHERE consortium developed a dedicated piece of software to process the data. First, the software corrects for instrumental artifacts. Then, it uses the speckle calibration tool (SpeCal) to minimize the stellar light halo that prevents us from detecting faint sources like exoplanets or circumstellar disks. SpeCal is meant to extract the astrometry and photometry of detected point-like sources (exoplanets, brown dwarfs, or background sources). SpeCal was intensively tested to ensure the consistency of all reduced images (cADI, Loci, TLoci, PCA, and others) for any SPHERE observing strategy (ADI, SDI, ASDI as well as the accuracy of the astrometry and photometry of detected point-like sources. Results. SpeCal is robust, user friendly, and efficient at detecting and characterizing point-like sources in high contrast images. It is used to process all SPHERE data systematically, and its outputs have been used for most of the SPHERE consortium papers to date. SpeCal is also a useful framework to compare different algorithms using various sets of data (different observing modes and conditions). Finally, our tests show that the extracted astrometry and photometry are accurate and not biased.

scholarly journals Adaptive Optics Observations of Exoplanets, Brown Dwarfs, and Binary Stars

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S282) ◽  
pp. 181-188
Author(s):  
Sasha Hinkley
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Optics ◽  
Binary Stars ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Contrast Ratio ◽  
Brown Dwarfs ◽  
Formation Mechanisms ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
High Contrast Imaging ◽  
Low Mass

AbstractThe current direct observations of brown dwarfs and exoplanets have been obtained using instruments not specifically designed for overcoming the large contrast ratio between the host star and any wide-separation faint companions. However, we are about to witness the birth of several new dedicated observing platforms specifically geared towards high contrast imaging of these objects. The Gemini Planet Imager, VLT-SPHERE, Subaru HiCIAO, and Project 1640 at the Palomar 5m telescope will return images of numerous exoplanets and brown dwarfs over hundreds of observing nights in the next five years. Along with diffraction-limited coronagraphs and high-order adaptive optics, these instruments also will return spectral and polarimetric information on any discovered targets, giving clues to their atmospheric compositions and characteristics. Such spectral characterization will be key to forming a detailed theory of comparative exoplanetary science which will be widely applicable to both exoplanets and brown dwarfs. Further, the prevalence of aperture masking interferometry in the field of high contrast imaging is also allowing observers to sense massive, young planets at solar system scales (~3–30 AU)— separations out of reach to conventional direct imaging techniques. Such observations can provide snapshots at the earliest phases of planet formation—information essential for constraining formation mechanisms as well as evolutionary models of planetary mass companions. As a demonstration of the power of this technique, I briefly review recent aperture masking observations of the HR 8799 system. Moreover, all of the aforementioned techniques are already extremely adept at detecting low-mass stellar companions to their target stars, and I present some recent highlights.

The CM120 Biotwin: a high-contrast objective lens, optimum cryo-vacuum and improved EDX performance

1995 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 584-585
Author(s):  
Uwe Lücken ◽  
Michael Felsmann ◽  
Wim M. Busing ◽  
Frank de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Life Science ◽  
Focal Length ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Forming Mechanism ◽  
Similar Image ◽  
High Contrast Imaging ◽  
Low Concentrations

A new microscope for the study of life science specimen has been developed. Special attention has been given to the problems of unstained samples, cryo-specimens and x-ray analysis at low concentrations.A new objective lens with a Cs of 6.2 mm and a focal length of 5.9 mm for high-contrast imaging has been developed. The contrast of a TWIN lens (f = 2.8 mm, Cs = 2 mm) and the BioTWTN are compared at the level of mean and SD of slow scan CCD images. Figure 1a shows 500 +/- 150 and Fig. 1b only 500 +/- 40 counts/pixel. The contrast-forming mechanism for amplitude contrast is dependent on the wavelength, the objective aperture and the focal length. For similar image conditions (same voltage, same objective aperture) the BioTWIN shows more than double the contrast of the TWIN lens. For phasecontrast specimens (like thin frozen-hydrated films) the contrast at Scherzer focus is approximately proportional to the √ Cs.

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