Direct imaging of protoplanetary disks promises to provide key insight into
the complex sequence of processes by which planets are formed. However imaging
the innermost region of such disks (a zone critical to planet formation) is
challenging for traditional observational techniques (such as near-IR imaging
and coronagraphy) due to the relatively long wavelengths involved and the area
occulted by the coronagraphic mask. Here we introduce a new instrument --
VAMPIRES -- which combines non-redundant aperture-masking interferometry with
differential polarimetry to directly image this previously inaccessible
innermost region. By using the polarisation of light scattered by dust in the
disk to provide precise differential calibration of interferometric
visibilities and closure phases, VAMPIRES allows direct imaging at and beyond
the telescope diffraction limit. Integrated into the SCExAO system at the
Subaru telescope, VAMPIRES operates at visible wavelengths (where polarisation
is high) while allowing simultaneous infrared observations conducted by HICIAO.
Here we describe the instrumental design and unique observing technique and
present the results of the first on-sky commissioning observations, validating
the excellent visibility and closure phase precision which are then used to
project expected science performance metrics