An apodizing phase plate coronagraph for VLT/NACO
Abstract
We describe a coronagraphic optic for use with CONICA at the VLT that provides suppression of diffraction from 1.8 to 7 λ/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.
- Publication:
-
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III
- Pub Date:
- July 2010
- DOI:
- 10.1117/12.856811
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1007.3448
- Bibcode:
- 2010SPIE.7735E..32K
- Keywords:
-
- Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 9 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Proc. SPIE Vol. 7735