Final laboratory integration and test of the Keck Interferometer nuller

S. L. Crawford; M. M. Colavita; J. I. Garcia; E. R. Ligon; B. Mennesson; C. G. Paine; E. Serabyn; R. F. Smythe; M. R. Swain; G. Vasisht

doi:10.1117/12.619131

14 September 2005 Final laboratory integration and test of the Keck Interferometer nuller

S. L. Crawford, M. M. Colavita, J. I. Garcia, E. R. Ligon, B. Mennesson, C. G. Paine, E. Serabyn, R. F. Smythe, M. R. Swain, G. Vasisht

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5905, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets II; 59050U (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.619131
Event: Optics and Photonics 2005, 2005, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Mid-infrared (8-13μm) nulling is a key observing mode planned for the NASA-funded Keck Interferometer at the Keck Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. By destructively interfering and thereby canceling the on-axis light from nearby stars, this observing mode will enable the characterization of the faint emission from exo-zodiacal dust surrounding these stellar systems. We report here the null leakage error budget and pre-ship results obtained in the laboratory after integration of the nulling beam combiner with its mid-infrared camera and key components of the Keck Interferometer. The mid-infrared nuller utilizes a dual-polarization, modified Mach-Zehnder (MMZ) beam combiner in conjunction with an atmospheric dispersion corrector to achieve broadband achromatic nulling.

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S. L. Crawford, M. M. Colavita, J. I. Garcia, E. R. Ligon, B. Mennesson, C. G. Paine, E. Serabyn, R. F. Smythe, M. R. Swain, and G. Vasisht "Final laboratory integration and test of the Keck Interferometer nuller", Proc. SPIE 5905, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets II, 59050U (14 September 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.619131

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