The limitations of adaptive optics and coronagraph performance make exoplanet detection close to λ/D extremely difficult with conventional imaging methods. The technique of non-redundant masking (NRM), which turns a filled aperture into an interferometric array, has pushed the planet detection parameter space to within λ/D. For high Strehl, the related filled-aperture kernel phase technique can achieve resolution comparable to NRM, without a dramatic decrease in throughput. We present non-redundant masking and kernel phase contrast curves generated for ground- and space-based instruments. We use both real and simulated observations to assess the performance of each technique, and discuss their capabilities for different exoplanet science goals such as broadband detection and spectral characterization.

Date Published: 9 July 2018
PDF: 23 pages
Proc. SPIE 10701, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging VI, 107011D (9 July 2018); doi: 10.1117/12.2313814

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10701:
Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging VI
Michelle J. Creech-Eakman; Peter G. Tuthill; Antoine Mérand, Editor(s)