Starlight coupling through atmospheric turbulence into few-mode fibers and photonic lanterns in the presence of partial adaptive optics correction

Abstract

Starlight corrupted by atmospheric turbulence cannot couple efficiently into astronomical instruments based on integrated optics as they require light of high spatial coherence to couple into their single-mode waveguides. Low-order adaptive optics in combination with photonic lanterns offer a practical approach to achieve efficient coupling into multiplexed astrophotonic devices. We investigate, aided by simulations and an experimental testbed, the trade-off between the degrees of freedom of the adaptive optics system and those of the input waveguide of an integrated optic component leading to a cost-effective hybrid system that achieves a signal-to-noise ratio higher than a standalone device fed by a single-mode fiber.

arXiv comment12 pages, 10 figures

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• 2023 Astrophotonics Roadmap: pathways to realizing multi-functional integrated astrophotonic instruments
• Simulations of mode-selective photonic lanterns for efficient coupling of starlight into the single-mode regime
• End-to-end simulations of photonic phase correctors for adaptive optics systems
• Learning the Lantern: Neural network applications to broadband photonic lantern modelling
• Astrophotonic Technologies
• Temperature-compensating package for OH line filters for astronomy: II. manufacture, assembly, and performance study