Publisher:Pasadena, CA : Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2006.
Citation:SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, Advances in Stellar Interferometry, Orlando, Florida, May 24 -31, 2006.
Abstract:
Deep, stable starlight nulls are needed for the direct detection of Earth-like planets and require careful control of the intensity and phases of the beams that are being combined. We are testing a novel compensator based on a deformable mirror to correct the intensity and phase at each wavelength and polarization across the nulling bandwidth. We have successfully demonstrated intensity and phase control using a deformable mirror across a 100nm wide band in the near- IR, and are in the process of conducting experiments in the mid-IR wavelengths. This paper covers the current results and in the mid-IR.