We describe a coronagraphic optic for use with CONICA at the VLT that
provides suppression of diffraction from 1.8 to 7 lambda/D at 4.05 microns, an
optimal wavelength for direct imaging of cool extrasolar planets. The optic is
designed to provide 10 magnitudes of contrast at 0.2 arcseconds, over a
D-shaped region in the image plane, without the need for any focal plane
occulting mask.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Proc. SPIE Vol. 773