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NASA NTRS2004

The COR1 Inner Coronagraph for STEREO-SECCHI

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) is a pair of identical satellites that will orbit the Sun so as to drift ahead of and behind Earth respectively, to give a stereo view of the Sun. STEREO is currently scheduled for launch in November 2005. One of the instrument packages that will be own on each of the STEREO spacecrafts is the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI), which consists of an extreme ultraviolet imager, two coronagraphs, and two side-viewing heliospheric imagers to observe solar coronal mass ejections all the way from the Sun to Earth. We report here on the inner coronagraph, labeled COR1. COR1 is a classic Lyot internally occulting refractive coronagraph, adapted for the first time to be used in space. The field of view is from 1.3 to 4 solar radii. A linear polarizer is used to suppress scattered light, and to extract the polarized brightness signal from the solar corona. The optical scattering performance of the coronagraph was first modeled using both the ASAP and APART numerical modeling codes, and then tested at the Vacuum Tunnel Facility at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. In this report, we will focus on the COR1 optical design, the predicted optical performance, and the observed performance in the lab. We will also discuss the mechanical and thermal design, and the cleanliness requirements needed to achieve the optical performance.

Thompson, William T.↗

NASA NTRS2011

General Tool for Evaluating High-Contrast Coronagraphic Telescope Performance Error Budgets

The Coronagraph Performance Error Budget (CPEB) tool automates many of the key steps required to evaluate the scattered starlight contrast in the dark hole of a space-based coronagraph. The tool uses a Code V prescription of the optical train, and uses MATLAB programs to call ray-trace code that generates linear beam-walk and aberration sensitivity matrices for motions of the optical elements and line-of-sight pointing, with and without controlled fine-steering mirrors (FSMs). The sensitivity matrices are imported by macros into Excel 2007, where the error budget is evaluated. The user specifies the particular optics of interest, and chooses the quality of each optic from a predefined set of PSDs. The spreadsheet creates a nominal set of thermal and jitter motions, and combines that with the sensitivity matrices to generate an error budget for the system. CPEB also contains a combination of form and ActiveX controls with Visual Basic for Applications code to allow for user interaction in which the user can perform trade studies such as changing engineering requirements, and identifying and isolating stringent requirements. It contains summary tables and graphics that can be instantly used for reporting results in view graphs. The entire process to obtain a coronagraphic telescope performance error budget has been automated into three stages: conversion of optical prescription from Zemax or Code V to MACOS (in-house optical modeling and analysis tool), a linear models process, and an error budget tool process. The first process was improved by developing a MATLAB package based on the Class Constructor Method with a number of user-defined functions that allow the user to modify the MACOS optical prescription. The second process was modified by creating a MATLAB package that contains user-defined functions that automate the process. The user interfaces with the process by utilizing an initialization file where the user defines the parameters of the linear model computations. Other than this, the process is fully automated. The third process was developed based on the Terrestrial Planet Finder coronagraph Error Budget Tool, but was fully automated by using VBA code, form, and ActiveX controls.

Marchen, Luis F.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Coronagraphic Wavefront Control for the ATLAST-9.2m Telescope

The Advanced Technology for Large Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) concept was assessed as one of the NASA Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concepts (ASMC) studies. Herein we discuss the 9.2-meter diameter segmented aperture version and its wavefront sensing and control (WFSC) with regards to coronagraphic detection and spectroscopic characterization of exoplanets. The WFSC would consist of at least two levels of sensing and control: (i) an outer coarser level of sensing and control to phase and control the segments and secondary mirror in a manner similar to the James Webb Space Telescope but operating at higher temporal bandwidth, and (ii) an inner, coronagraphic instrument based, fine level of sensing and control for both amplitude and wavefront errors operating at higher temporal bandwidths. The outer loop would control rigid-body actuators on the primary and secondary mirrors while the inner loop would control one or more segmented deformable mirror to suppress the starlight within the coronagraphic field-of view. Herein we discuss the visible nulling coronagraph (VNC) and the requirements it levies on wavefront sensing and control and show the results of closed-loop simulations to assess performance and evaluate the trade space of system level stability versus control bandwidth.

Lyon, RIchard G.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Coronagraphic Notch Filter for Raman Spectroscopy

A modified coronagraph has been proposed as a prototype of improved notch filters in Raman spectrometers. Coronagraphic notch filters could offer alternatives to both (1) the large and expensive double or triple monochromators in older Raman spectrometers and (2) holographic notch filters, which are less expensive but are subject to environmental degradation as well as to limitations of geometry and spectral range. Measurement of a Raman spectrum is an exercise in measuring and resolving faint spectral lines close to a bright peak: In Raman spectroscopy, a monochromatic beam of light (the pump beam) excites a sample of material that one seeks to analyze. The pump beam generates a small flux of scattered light at wavelengths slightly greater than that of the pump beam. The shift in wavelength of the scattered light from the pump wavelength is known in the art as the Stokes shift. Typically, the flux of scattered light is of the order of 10 7 that of the pump beam and the Stokes shift lies in the wave-number range of 100 to 3,000 cm 1. A notch filter can be used to suppress the pump-beam spectral peak while passing the nearby faint Raman spectral lines. The basic principles of design and operation of a coronagraph offer an opportunity for engineering the spectral transmittance of the optics in a Raman spectrometer. A classical coronagraph may be understood as two imaging systems placed end to end, such that the first system forms an intermediate real image of a nominally infinitely distant object and the second system forms a final real image of the intermediate real image. If the light incident on the first telescope is collimated, then the intermediate image is a point-spread function (PSF). If an appropriately tailored occulting spot (e.g., a Gaussian-apodized spot with maximum absorption on axis) is placed on the intermediate image plane, then the instrument inhibits transmission of light from an on-axis source. However, the PSFs of off-axis light sources are formed off axis - that is, away from the occulting spot - so that they become refocused onto the final image plane.

Cohen, David↗

NASA NTRS2013

Laboratory Demonstration of Phase Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) Coronagraph with Better than 10(exp -9) Contrast

We present coronagraphic images from the Phase Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph on NASA's High Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) at the Jet Propulsion Lab, showing contrasts of 5x10(exp -1) averaged from 2-4 lambda/D, in monochromatic light at 808 nm. In parallel with the coronagraph and its deformable mirror and coronagraphic wavefront control, we also demonstrate a low-order wavefront control system, giving 100 x rms suppression of introduced tip/tilt disturbances down to residual levels of 10(exp -3) lambda/D. Current limitations, as well as broadband (10% fractional bandpass) preliminary results are discussed.

deformable mirror (DM)↗

NASA NTRS2015

Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies (PISCES) for WFIRST/AFTA

Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies (PISCES) is a prototype lenslet array based integral field spectrometer (IFS) designed for high contrast imaging of extrasolar planets. PISCES will be used to advance the technology readiness of the high contrast IFS baselined on the Wide-Field InfraRed Survey TelescopeAstrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRSTAFTA) coronagraph instrument. PISCES will be integrated into the high contrast imaging testbed (HCIT) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and will work with both the Hybrid Lyot Coronagraph (HLC) and the Shaped Pupil Coronagraph (SPC). We will present the PISCES optical design, including the similarities and differences of lenslet based IFSs to normal spectrometers, the trade-off between a refractive design and reflective design, as well as the compatibility to upgrade from the current 1k x 1k detector array to 4k x 4k detector array. The optical analysis, alignment plan, and mechanical design of the instrument will be discussed.

Integral Field Spectrometer↗

NASA NTRS2015

Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies (PISCES) for WFIRST/AFTA

Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies (PISCES) is a lenslet array based integral field spectrometer (IFS) designed for high contrast imaging of extrasolar planets. PISCES will be used to advance the technology readiness of the high contrast IFS baselined on the Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope/Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST/AFTA) coronagraph instrument. PISCES will be integrated into the high contrast imaging testbed (HCIT) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and will work with both the Hybrid Lyot Coronagraph (HLC) and the Shaped Pupil Coronagraph (SPC) cofigurations. We discuss why the lenslet array based IFS is selected for PISCES. We present the PISCES optical design, including the similarities and differences of lenslet based IFSs to normal spectrometers, the trade-off between a refractive design and reflective design, as well as the specific function of our pinhole mask on the back surface of the lenslet array to further suppress star light introduced speckles. The optical analysis, alignment plan, and mechanical design of the instrument will be discussed.

Integral field spectrometer↗

NASA NTRS2016

Phase Retrieval Implementation for the WFIRST Coronagraph Development Testbed

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a 2.4m diameter space telescope NASA program. The payload will include two instruments, including a coronagraph instrument (CGI). The CGI will be the first active, high-contrast stellar coronagraph in space intended for imaging, discovery, and spectral characterization of exoplanets and debris discs. The CGI designs under development use deformable mirrors (DM) to create a point spread function (PSF) with a dark region around the obscured star object. Each DM consists of an array of actuators, and each actuator causes a local displacement to a thin, mirror-coated, glass face sheet. The actuator displacements are designed to create the PSF. Typically, phase retrieval is used to set the DM actuator displacements to their designed pattern, and then the actuators are further modified by an iterative control loop to correct for system non-idealities. To observe an exoplanet near the star object, the contrast in the annular region must be better than 10^8 (10^9 after post processing) relative to the unobstructed image of the star [1,2]. The coronagraph testbed at Jet Propulsion Laboratory is used to test coronagraph design and control algorithms. The optical system (Fig. 1) is maintained in a vacuum tank so that the PSF is stable for long integration times. Phase retrieval is an important tool for the testbed and serves several purposes, in addition to setting initial DM actuator displacements. Other uses include evaluation of systematic wavefront error introduced by system components, and alignment of the DMs and pupil masks. For example, the location of specific DM actuators relative to the Lyot mask can be determined by displacing the actuator, then measuring the location of the phase disturbance in the pupil plane with phase retrieval. In the next section we further describe the optical train of the testbed and the collection of source and pupil images available as inputs for phase retrieval, as well as one phase retrieval algorithm employed. Section 3 shows example phase retrieval results.

Marx, David↗

NASA NTRS2017

Sensitivity of WFIRST Coronagraph Broadband Contrast Performance to DM Actuator Errors

The WFIRST/AFTA 2.4 m space telescope currently under study includes a stellar coronagraph for the imaging and the spectral characterization of extrasolar planets. The coronagraph employs sequential deformable mirrors to compensate for phase and amplitude errors. Using the optical model of an Occulting Mask Coronagraph (OMC) testbed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), we have investigated the sensitivity of a Hybrid Lyot Coronagraph (HLC) broadband contrast performance to DM actuator errors and actuator limits. Considered case include drifts in actuator gains or actuator response curves, paired actuators, as well as the limits imposed by a neighboring-actuator rule. Actual data about the actuator drifts and the knowledge about the paired-actuators obtained in several DM characterization experiments conducted at JPL, as well as the neighboring-actuator rule implemented on the OMC testbed were used in simulations. We obtained good agreement between the model prediction and the testbed measurement in terms of static HLC contrast floor and contrast chromaticity.

Sidick, Erkin↗

NASA NTRS2017

Optimizing the Regularization in Broadband Wavefront Control Algorithm for WFIRST Coronagraph

The WFIRST/AFTA 2.4 m space telescope currently under study includes a stellar coronagraph for the imaging and the spectral characterization of extrasolar planets. The coronagraph employs sequential deformable mirrors to compensate for phase and amplitude errors. Using the optical model of an Occulting Mask Coronagraph (OMC) testbed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), we have investigated and compared through modeling and simulations the performance of several actuator regularization-schemes in broadband wavefront control algorithm used to generate dark holes in an OMC, such as a Hybrid Lyot Coronagraph (HLC). Using the concept of a Tikhonov filter constituting the G-matrix, we have explained what the different regularization schemes do to singular-modes during a wavefront control process called Electric Field Conjugation (EFC). In some cases we confirmed the numerical predictions with the testbed measured results. We present our findings in this paper.

Sidick, Erkin↗

NASA NTRS2019

Innovative Compact Coronagraph Approach for Balloon-Borne Investigation of Temperature and Speed of Electrons in the Corona (BITSE)

We are developing an innovative compact coronagraph for studying the physical conditions in the solar wind acceleration region. This paper presents the new development of the compact coronagraph for the investigation of temperature and speed of electrons in the solar corona. The proposed compact coronagraph is a one stage externally occulted coronagraph without internal occulter or Lyot stop mask. The key of the new idea is to set the inner field cutoff at the External Occulter (EO) much smaller than the specified inner field cutoff. A second occulter on the surface of the detector array removes the remaining diffraction. The occulter on the detector surface functions similar to an internal occulter with the Inner Field of View Cutoff (IFoVC) exactly the same as specified. For BITSE, the desired inner field cutoff is 3 R, but the cutoff at EO is only 1.5 R☉. The diffraction analysis shows that in the sensor plane, the diffraction intensity at the 3 R☉ is not sensitive to the EO cutoff, either at 1.5 R☉ or close to 3 R☉. The advantage of having a smaller EO cutoff is that the vignetting decreased for the Field of View (FoV) near 3 R☉, therefore, the signal increases. Meanwhile, the diffraction of Point Spread Function is much less in the radial direction, which not only increases the image quality around 3 R☉, but also increases the encircled energy and signal to noise ratio. In other words, the data is useful right at 3 R☉! The BITSE optical design and diffraction analysis will be presented in detail. The simulation shows the signal to noise ratio obtained from the diffraction and vignetting data enables corona temperature and speed measurement.

Gong, Qian↗

NASA NTRS2019

Innovative Compact Coronagraph Approach for Balloon-Borne Investigation of Temperature and Speed of Electrons in the Corona (BITSE)

Gong, Qian↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

End-to-end Modeling of Lyot Coronagraph for LUVOIR: Sensitivity to Segment-Level Aberrations

Direct imaging and spectroscopic characterization of atmospheres of Earth-like exoplanets require starlight suppression to detect a faint planetary signal at small angular separations. Future space telescopes will require segmentation to survey a statistically significant population of nearby stars systems by increasing aperture size beyond the limits set by traditional monolithic apertures; however, segmentation also represents an additional challenge due to the introduction of temporal pupil discontinuities in terms of both phase and amplitude. For this study, a baseline Lyot coronagraph is used with the Large UV / Optical /Infrared (LUVOIR) mission’s 15-m on-axis, segmented optical telescope assembly (OTA). We present a high-fidelity, end-to-end modeling approach developed as part of the Segmented Coronagraph Design and Analysis (SCDA) group that includes diffractive optical propagations at the 1e-10 contrast level across the entire optical train including the OTA and intermediate re-imaging optics inside the coronagraph instrument. We perform a tolerancing analysis to assess the contrast sensitivity to wavefront perturbations for a set of key telescope terms including segment-level low-order and mid-spatial frequency aberrations. As an input to the end-to-end telescope model, we use two industry-provided segment-level wavefront aberration datasets pertaining: (1) thermal gradients and accelerations (courtesy of Ball-Aerospace and L3-Harris), and (2) telescope dynamics including line-of-sight and segment jitter (courtesy of Lockheed-Martin). Contrast performance outputs of the coronagraph are fed into a mission design reference simulator to assess the scientific yield sensitivity. End-to-end modeling will incorporate performance improvements due to active wavefront sensing and control and/or segment-level metrology to improve system performance.

Optics↗

NASA NTRS2016

Low order wavefront sensing and control for WFIRST coronagraph

To maintain the required WFIRST Coronagraph starlight suppression performance in a realistic space environment, a low order wavefront sensing and control (LOWFS/C) subsystem is necessary. The LOWFS/C uses the rejected stellar light from coronagraph to sense and suppress the telescope pointing drift and jitter as well as the low order wavefront errors due to changes in thermal loading on the telescope and the rest of the observatory. In this paper we will present an overview of the low order wavefront sensing and control subsystem for the WFIRST Coronagraph and describe the WFIRST Coronagraph LOWFS function, its design, and modeled performance. We will present experimental results on a dedicated LOWFS/C testbed that show that the LOWFS/C subsystem not only can sense pointing errors better than 0.2 mas but has also experimentally demonstrated closed loop pointing error suppression with residuals better than 0.4 mas rms per axis for the vast majority of observatory reaction wheel speeds.

Wilson, Dan↗

NASA NTRS2018

Fast Linearized Coronagraph Optimizer (FALCO) II: Optical Model Validation and Time Savings over Other Methods

We have developed the Fast Linearized Coronagraph Optimizer (FALCO), a new software toolbox for high-contrast, coronagraphic wavefront sensing and control. FALCO rapidly calculates the linearized deformable mirror (DM) response matrices, also called control Jacobians, and can be used for the design, simulation, or testbed operation of several types of coronagraphs. In this paper, we demonstrate that the optical propagation used in FALCO is accurate and matches PROPER. In addition, we demonstrate the drastic reduction in runtime when using FALCO for DM Jacobian calculations instead of the conventional method used, for example with a model of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Coronagraph Instrument (CGI). We then compare the relative accuracy between optical models in FALCO and PROPER.

Coker, Carl↗

NASA NTRS2018

Numerically Optimized Coronagraph Designs for the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) Concept

The primary science goal of the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx), one of four candidate ﬂagship missions under investigation, is to image and spectrally characterize Earth-like exoplanets. It is well known that pupil obscurations degrade coronagraphic performance and complicate coronagraph design, so HabEx is planned to have an oﬀ-axis, unobscured primary mirror. We utilize the circular symmetry of the aperture to investigate 1D-radial coronagraph optimization methods that are prohibitively time-consuming or intractable in 2D, such as diﬀractive pupil remapping and concurrent, multi-plane optimization. We also directly constrain sensitivities to dynamic, low-order Zernike aberrations, which are separable in polar coordinates and can thus be propagated as 1D-radial integrals. The mask technologies in our designs claim heritage from the extensive modeling and testbed experiments performed by the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) project. In this paper, we detail our optimization methods and outline future work to complete our design survey.

Balasubramaian, Kunjithapatham↗

NASA NTRS2021

Spectroscopic Signatures of the Vanishing Natural Coronagraph of eta Carinae

Eta Carinae is a massive interacting binary system shrouded in a complex circumstellar environment whose evolution is the source of the long-term brightening observed during the last 80 years. An occulter, acting as a natural coronagraph, impacts observations from our perspective, but not from most other directions. Other sight-lines are visible to us through studies of the Homunculus reflection nebula. The coronagraph appears to be vanishing, decreasing the extinction towards the central star, and causing the star's secular brightening. In contrast, the Homunculus remains at an almost constant brightness. The coronagraph primarily suppresses the stellar continuum, to a lesser extent the wind lines, and not the circumstellar emission lines. This explains why the absolute values of equivalent widths (EWs) of the emission lines in our direct view are larger than those seen in reflected by the Homunculus, why the direct view absolute EWs are decreasing with time, and why lower-excitation spectral wind lines formed at larger radii (e.g Fe ii 4585A) decrease in intensity at a faster pace than higher excitation lines that form closer to the star (e.g. Hdelta). Our main result is that the star, despite its 10-fold brightening over two decades, is relatively stable. A vanishing coronagraph that can explain both the large flux evolution and the much weaker spectral evolution. This is contrary to suggestions that the long-term variability is intrinsic to the primary star that is still recovering from the Great Eruption with a decreasing mass-loss rate and a polar wind that is evolving at a slower pace than at the equator.

A. Damineli↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Exoplanet Yield Sensitivity for the Hybrid Lyot Coronagraph from end-to-end modeling for LUVOIR-A

NASA's future direct imaging flagship mission will require telescope mirror segmentation to survey a statistically significant population of nearby stellar systems by increasing aperture size beyond that achieved by traditional space-borne monolithic apertures thus far. Segmentation is a path for the size expansion, but it entails a challenge due to the introduction of temporal pupil discontinuities in terms of both phase and amplitude. Modeling of the integrated performance of the coronagraph with the expected dynamical profile of the telescope is an important step toward realistic estimates of the mission's science yields. We present results of a study using the hybrid Lyot coronagraph with a 15-m on-axis, segmented optical telescope assembly (OTA), akin to that of the Large UV / Optical /Infrared (LUVOIR) mission. We have developed a high-fidelity, end-to-end model as part of the Segmented Coronagraph Design and Analysis (SCDA) study that includes diffractive optical propagations at the 1e-10 contrast level across the optical train including the OTA and intermediate re-imaging optics inside the coronagraph instrument. We perform a sensitivity analysis to assess the contrast sensitivity to wavefront perturbations for a set of key telescope terms including segment-level low-order and mid-spatial frequency aberrations and evaluate expected exoplanet yields obtained in the presence of these sets of aberrations. Industry-provided segment-level wavefront aberration datasets involving the following mechanisms are input to the end-to-end model: (1) thermal gradients and accelerations, and (2) telescope dynamics including line-of-sight and segment jitter. Dynamically averaged PSFs in the presence of aberrations are fed into AYO (Altruistic Yield Optimization), a mission design reference simulator, that then assesses the scientific yield sensitivities.

high-contrast imaging↗