Photonic crystal fibers for microwave signal processing

[EN] We present a novel design of an optical True Time Delay Line based on a 19-core Photonic Crystal Fiber that operates in a broad radiofrequency signal processing range from 1 to 67 GHz on a 10-km link, thus enabling simultaneous microwave signal distribution and processing.This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under Project 724663, the Spanish MINECO under BES-2017-079682 scholarship for S. Shaheen and Ramon y Cajal fellowship RYC-2014-16247 for I. Gasulla.Shaheen, S.; Gris-Sánchez, I.; Gasulla Mestre, I. (2021). Photonic crystal fibers for microwave signal processing. IEEE. 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1109/IPC48725.2021.95929341

A Multi-Core Fibre Photonic Lantern-Based Spectrograph for Raman Spectroscopy

[EN] We report on the development of a compact (volume approximate to 100 cm(3)), multimode diffraction-limited Raman spectrograph and probe designed to be compact as possible. The spectrograph uses 'off the shelf' optics, a custom 3D-printed two-part housing and harnesses a multi-core fibre (MCF) photonic lantern (multimode to few-mode converter), which slices a large 40 mu m multimode input into a near-diffraction-limited 6 mu m aperture. Our unique design utilises the hexagonal geometry of our MCF, permitting high multimode collection efficiency with near-diffraction-limited performance in a compact design. Our approach does not require a complex reformatter or mask and thus preserves spectral information and throughput when forming the entrance slit of the spectrograph. We demonstrate the technology over the interval 800 nm to 940 nm (200 cm(-1) to 2000 cm(-1)) with a resolution of 0.3 nm (4 cm(-1)), but other spectral regions and resolutions from the UV to the near infrared are also possible. We demonstrate the performance of our system by recording the Raman spectra of several compounds, including the pharmaceuticals paracetamol and ibuprofen.This work was supported in part by the University of Sydney under Grant SREI 2020 and in part by JBH's ARC Laureate Fellowship under Grant FL140100278.Betters, CH.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Sukkarieh, S.; Gris-Sánchez, I.; Leon-Saval, SG. (2020). A Multi-Core Fibre Photonic Lantern-Based Spectrograph for Raman Spectroscopy. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters. 32(7):395-398. https://doi.org/10.1109/LPT.2020.2976599S39539832

Modal noise mitigation in a photonic lantern fed near-IR spectrograph

Recently we have demonstrated the potential of a hybrid astrophotonic device, consisting of a multi-core fiber photonic lantern and a 3D waveguide reformatting component, to efficiently reformat the multimode point spread function of a telescope to a diffracted limited pseudo-slit. Here, we report on an investigation into the potential of this device to mitigate modal noise-one of the main hurdles of multi-mode fiber-fed spectrographs. The modal noise performance of the photonic reformatter and other fiber feeds was assessed using a bench-Top spectrograph based on an echelle grating. In a first method of modal noise quantification, we used broadband light as the input, and assessed the modal noise performance based on the variations in the normalized spectrum as the input coupling to the fiber feed is varied. In a second method, we passed the broadband light through an etalon to generate a source with spectrally narrow peaks. We then used the spectral stability of these peaks as the input coupling to the fiber feed was varied as a proxy for the modal noise. Using both of these approaches we found that the photonic reformatter could significantly reduce modal noise compared to the multi-mode fiber feed, demonstrating the potential of photonic reformatters to mitigate modal noise for applications such as near-IR radial velocity measurements of M-dwarf stars. </p

Multi-core fibre-fed integral-field unit (MCIFU):Overview and first-light

The Multi-Core Integral-Field Unit (MCIFU) is a new diffraction-limited near-infrared integral-field unit for exoplanet atmosphere characterization with extreme adaptive optics (xAO) instruments. It has been developed as an experimental pathfinder for spectroscopic upgrades for SPHERE+/VLT and other xAO systems. The wavelength range covers 1.0 um to 1.6um at a resolving power around 5000 for 73 points on-sky. The MCIFU uses novel astrophotonic components to make this very compact and robust spectrograph. We performed the first successful on-sky test with CANARY at the 4.2 meter William Herschel Telescope in July 2019, where observed standard stars and several stellar binaries. An improved version of the MCIFU will be used with MagAO-X, the new extreme adaptive optics system at the 6.5 meter Magellan Clay telescope in Chile. We will show and discuss the first-light performance and operations of the MCIFU at CANARY and discuss the integration of the MCIFU with MagAO-X.</p

Diffraction-limited integral-field spectroscopy for extreme adaptive optics systems with the multicore fiber-fed integral-field unit

International audienceDirect imaging instruments have the spatial resolution to resolve exoplanets from their host star. This enables direct characterization of the exoplanets atmosphere, but most direct imaging instruments do not have spectrographs with high enough resolving power for detailed atmospheric characterization. We investigate the use of a single-mode diffraction-limited integral-field unit that is compact and easy to integrate into current and future direct imaging instruments for exoplanet characterization. This achieved by making use of recent progress in photonic manufacturing to create a single-mode fiber-fed image reformatter. The fiber link is created with three-dimensional printed lenses on top of a single-mode multicore fiber that feeds an ultrafast laser inscribed photonic chip that reformats the fiber into a pseudoslit. We then couple it to a first-order spectrograph with a triple stacked volume phase holographic grating for a high efficiency over a large bandwidth. The prototype system has had a successful first-light observing run at the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope. The measured on-sky resolving power is between 2500 and 3000, depending on the wavelength. With our observations, we show that single-mode integral-field spectroscopy is a viable option for current and future exoplanet imaging instruments