Tri-coupler geometries for achromatic nulling interferometry in the near-infrared

Abstract

Astrophotonics is central to the next generation of astronomical instrumentation, enabling compact photonic integrated circuits for both ground-based observatories and future space missions. Beam combination for nulling interferometry suppresses starlight, revealing exoplanets and companions. Two-waveguide photonic combiners rely on symmetric evanescent, inherently chromatic, coupling to interfere light. A three-waveguide configuration, or tri-coupler, offers the potential for deeper, broader, and more stable achromatic nulls compared with two-waveguide approaches. This work compares the simulated performance of evanescent tri-couplers and a multimode interference coupler across the 1.5-1.8 micron band, evaluating exoplanet throughput, starlight attenuation, sensing characteristics, and estimations on fabrication tolerance. All three tri-couplers achieved >40dB attenuation over a 270nm bandwidth. Including component loss, the tapered tri-coupler has the highest total throughput, averaging 97%, whereas the standard tri-coupler began with an equivalent exoplanet throughput and fell to 50% at the band edges. The tapered tri-coupler was further redesigned to achieve a non-degenerate sensing state. The MMI, while limited to a starlight attenuation of 40dB by uncoupled light, showed the greatest tolerance to fabrication errors. Future designs aim to combine high exoplanet throughput, deep starlight attenuation, and non-degenerate sensing within a single integrated architecture. This work provides a simulation suite for three tri-couplers.

21 pages, 10 Figures, 1 table

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