Status and Predicted Performance for the AstroPIC Integrated Photonic Coronagraph Testbed at NASA Ames

Integrated photonics is a promising coronagraph technology option for exoplanet-imaging missions like NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory flagship. It is theoretically capable of achieving better performance than traditional bulk-optic coronagraphs because arrays of integrated interferometers can be combined to implement any linear operator. However, photonic coronagraphs require significant maturation to be ready for a space telescope mission. The AstroPIC project is advancing this technology by developing a proof-of-concept integrated photonic coronagraph based on silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. We are also developing a laboratory PIC-based coronagraph testbed to demonstrate the implementation of this technology for exoplanet detection application. A key challenge is to efficiently inject the light collected by the telescope in the PIC, for that purpose we are designing grating couplers fed by microlens arrays that could sample a reimaged pupil to inject it in the PIC. The AstroPIC program is investigating the impact of a PIC coronagraph on the predicted scientific yield of the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission concept. In this talk, we will present the current status of the AstroPIC design, including the layout of the most recent PIC, as well as the current implementation of the PIC coronagraph testbed at Ames. We will also present on the status of simulations that predict the performance of the instrument and feed into scientific yield estimations for HWO Exploratory Analytic Cases (EACs) 1-3. Finally, we will present the status of the development of a PIC testbed at NASA Ames and results from preliminary PIC laboratory testing at Stanford.