title: Use of single-mode waveguides to correct the optical defects of a nulling interferometer.
abstract: In the area of long-baseline nulling interferometry, high rejection ratios are needed to cancel out the light of a bright central source and look for nearby faint structures or companions. These rejection requirements directly translate into drastic optical constraints. We discuss the possibility of using single-mode waveguides for such applications. Conversely to simple pinholes, single-mode waveguides efficiently correct wave-front defects of both high- and low-order spatial frequencies, ensure a perfect matching of the amplitude profiles coming from the various beams, and can be used with almost optimum coupling efficiency over a broad optical bandpass (typically an octave). They then appear to greatly enhance the feasibility of high-dynamic interferometric coronagraphs.
authors.affiliation: Département de Recherche Spatiale, Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France.
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mennesson
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ollivier
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruilier