Integrated photonic building blocks for next-generation astronomical instrumentation II: the multimode to single mode transition

Abstract

There are numerous advantages to exploiting diffraction-limited instrumentation at astronomical observatories, which include smaller footprints, less mechanical and thermal instabilities and high levels of performance. To realize such instrumentation it is imperative to convert the atmospheric seeing-limited signal that is captured by the telescope into a diffraction-limited signal. This process can be achieved photonically by using a mode reformatting device known as a photonic lantern that performs a multimode to single-mode transition. With the aim of developing an optimized integrated photonic lantern, we undertook a systematic parameter scan of devices fabricated by the femtosecond laser direct-write technique. The devices were designed for operation around 1.55 μm. The devices showed (coupling and transition) losses of less than 5% for F/# $\ge$ 12 injection and the total device throughput (including substrate absorption) as high as 75-80%. Such devices show great promise for future use in astronomy.

12 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (4)

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• Starlight Demonstration of the Dragonfly Instrument: an Integrated Photonic Pupil Remapping Interferometer for High Contrast Imaging
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Cited by in corpus (22)

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• Photonic lantern behaviour and implications for instrument design
• Simulation and Optimization of an Astrophotonic Reformatter
• Simulations of mode-selective photonic lanterns for efficient coupling of starlight into the single-mode regime
• Multicore fibre technology - the road to multimode photonics
• Modal noise characterisation of a hybrid reformatter
• Enabling the next generation of scientific discoveries by embracing photonic technologies
• Application of Multicore Optical Fibers in Astronomy
• Astrophotonics -- current capabilities and the road ahead
• Optimizing astrophotonic spatial reformatters using simulated on-sky performance