The space coronagraph optical bench (SCoOB): 4. Vacuum performance of a high contrast imaging testbed

Kyle Van Gorkom; Ewan S. Douglas; Kian Milani; Jaren N. Ashcraft; Ramya M. Anche; Emory Jenkins; Patrick Ingraham; Sebastiaan Haffert; Daewook Kim; Heejoo Choi; Olivier Durney

doi:10.1117/12.3020654

23 August 2024 The space coronagraph optical bench (SCoOB): 4. Vacuum performance of a high contrast imaging testbed

Kyle Van Gorkom, Ewan S. Douglas, Kian Milani, Jaren N. Ashcraft, Ramya M. Anche, Emory Jenkins, Patrick Ingraham, Sebastiaan Haffert, Daewook Kim, Heejoo Choi, Olivier Durney

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 1309222 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020654
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Abstract

The Space Coronagraph Optical Bench (SCoOB) is a high-contrast imaging testbed built to demonstrate starlight suppression techniques at visible wavelengths in a space-like vacuum environment. The testbed is designed to achieve <10⁻⁸ contrast from 3 − 10λ/D in a one-sided dark hole using a liquid crystal vector vortex waveplate and a 952-actuator Kilo-C deformable mirror (DM) from Boston Micromachines (BMC). We have recently expanded the testbed to include a field stop for mitigation of stray/scattered light, a precision-fabricated pinhole in the source simulator, a Minus K passive vibration isolation table for jitter reduction, and a low-noise vacuum-compatible CMOS sensor. We report the latest contrast performance achieved using implicit electric field conjugation (iEFC) at a vacuum of ∼10⁻⁶ Torr and over a range of bandpasses with central wavelengths from 500 to 650nm and bandwidths (BW) from ≪ 1% to 15%. Our jitter in vacuum is < 3 × 10⁻³λ/D, and the best contrast performance to-date in a half-sided D-shaped dark hole is 2.2 × 10⁻⁹ in a ≪ 1% BW, 4 × 10⁻⁹ in a 2% BW, and 2.5 × 10⁻⁸ in a 15% BW.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Kyle Van Gorkom, Ewan S. Douglas, Kian Milani, Jaren N. Ashcraft, Ramya M. Anche, Emory Jenkins, Patrick Ingraham, Sebastiaan Haffert, Daewook Kim, Heejoo Choi, and Olivier Durney "The space coronagraph optical bench (SCoOB): 4. Vacuum performance of a high contrast imaging testbed", Proc. SPIE 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 1309222 (23 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020654

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