High-contrast Imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HICAT): II. Design overview and first light results

Mamadou N'Diaye; Elodie Choquet; Sylvain Egron; Laurent Pueyo; Lucie Leboulleux; Olivier Levecq; Marshall D. Perrin; Erin Elliot; J. Kent Wallace; Emmanuel Hugot; Michel Marcos; Marc Ferrari; Chris A. Long; Rachel Anderson; Audrey DiFelice; Rémi Soummer

doi:10.1117/12.2056694

28 August 2014 High-contrast Imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HICAT): II. Design overview and first light results

Mamadou N'Diaye, Elodie Choquet, Sylvain Egron, Laurent Pueyo, Lucie Leboulleux, Olivier Levecq, Marshall D. Perrin, Erin Elliot, J. Kent Wallace, Emmanuel Hugot, Michel Marcos, Marc Ferrari, Chris A. Long, Rachel Anderson, Audrey DiFelice, Rémi Soummer

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9143, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 914327 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056694
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2014, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

We present a new high-contrast imaging testbed designed to provide complete solutions in wavefront sensing, control and starlight suppression with complex aperture telescopes. The testbed was designed to enable a wide range of studies of the effects of such telescope geometries, with primary mirror segmentation, central obstruction, and spiders. The associated diffraction features in the point spread function make high-contrast imaging more challenging. In particular the testbed will be compatible with both AFTA-like and ATLAST-like aperture shapes, respectively on-axis monolithic, and on-axis segmented telescopes. The testbed optical design was developed using a novel approach to define the layout and surface error requirements to minimize amplitude induced errors at the target contrast level performance. In this communication we compare the as-built surface errors for each optic to their specifications based on end-to-end Fresnel modelling of the testbed. We also report on the testbed optical and optomechanical alignment performance, coronagraph design and manufacturing, and preliminary first light results.

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Mamadou N'Diaye, Elodie Choquet, Sylvain Egron, Laurent Pueyo, Lucie Leboulleux, Olivier Levecq, Marshall D. Perrin, Erin Elliot, J. Kent Wallace, Emmanuel Hugot, Michel Marcos, Marc Ferrari, Chris A. Long, Rachel Anderson, Audrey DiFelice, and Rémi Soummer "High-contrast Imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HICAT): II. Design overview and first light results", Proc. SPIE 9143, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 914327 (28 August 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056694

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