In this communication we present the first experimental results obtained on the Crossed-cubes nuller (CCN), that is a new type of Achromatic phase shifter (APS) based on a pair of crossed beamsplitter cubes. We review the general principle of the CCN, now restricted to two interferometric outputs for achieving better performance, and describe the experimental apparatus developed in our laboratory. It is cheap, compact, and easy to align. The results demonstrate a high extinction rate in monochromatic light and confirm that the device is insensitive to its polarization state. Finally, the first lessons from the experiment are summarized and discussed in view of future space missions searching for extrasolar planets located in the habitable zone, either based on a coronagraphic telescope or a sparse-aperture nulling interferometer.

Date Published: 4 August 2016
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 9907, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging V, 99072H (4 August 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2231279

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9907:
Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging V
Fabien Malbet; Michelle J. Creech-Eakman; Peter G. Tuthill, Editor(s)