CaltechAUTHORS
Published July 10, 2018 | Version Published
Book Section - Chapter Open

Adaptive optics with an infrared Pyramid wavefront sensor

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 2. ROR icon W.M. Keck Observatory
  • 3. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 4. ROR icon Jet Propulsion Lab
  • 5. ROR icon National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
  • 6. ROR icon Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory

Contributors

Abstract

Wavefront sensing in the infrared is highly desirable for the study of M-type stars and cool red objects, as they are sufficiently bright in the infrared to be used as the adaptive optics guide star. This aids in high contrast imaging, particularly for low mass stars where the star-to-planet brightness ratio is reduced. Here we discuss the combination of infrared detector technology with the highly sensitive Pyramid wavefront sensor (WFS) for a new generation of systems. Such sensors can extend the capabilities of current telescopes and meet the requirements for future instruments, such as those proposed for the giant segmented mirror telescopes. Here we introduce the infrared Pyramid WFS and discuss the advantages and challenges of this sensor. We present a new infrared Pyramid WFS for Keck, a key sub-system of the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC). The design, integration and testing is reported on, with a focus on the characterization of the SAPHIRA detector used to provide the H-band wavefront sensing. Initial results demonstrate a required effective read noise <1e^– at high gain.

Additional Information

© 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). The near-infrared pyramid wavefront sensor is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-1611623. The camera used with the pyramid wavefront sensor is provided by Don Hall with support by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-1106391. The fiber injection unit is supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation. The W. M. Keck Observatory is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The authors wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Maunakea has always had within the indigenous Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain.

Attached Files

Published - 107031Z.pdf

Files

107031Z.pdf

Files (3.7 MB)

Name Size Download all
md5:1954ef9caf10547a99bce58469e7fa47
3.7 MB Preview Download

Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
98184
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20190823-134013491

Funding

NSF
AST-1611623
NSF
AST-1106391
Heising-Simons Foundation
W. M. Keck Foundation

Dates

Created
2019-08-23
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-16
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Astronomy Department
Series Name
Proceedings of SPIE
Series Volume or Issue Number
10703