High contrast imaging with the AstroPIC integrated photonic coronagraph

Integrated photonics is a promising coronagraph technology option for increasing the Exo-Earth science yield of NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory and relaxing key observatory requirements. A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) coronagraph is theoretically capable of achieving extremely high performance because arrays of integrated interferometers can implement any optical transformation, including a near-optimal coronagraph. However, PIC coronagraphs require maturation before use in a space telescope mission. The AstroPIC project is advancing this technology by developing a proof-of-concept silicon-photonic PIC coronagraph in the near-infrared. In this talk, we will review the design of AstroPIC and present results from laboratory testing of the first set of PIC devices fabricated for the project, including experiments that achieve over 90 dB extinction (<1e-9 contrast) of a single input channel and over 60 dB extinction (<1e-6 contrast) of multiple illuminated inputs.