Planar optics technologies allow to design complex single- mode interferometric beam combiners on single miniaturized optical components. Our current collaborations with laboratories and companies allow us to deeply investigate the characteristics of components produced either by silica etching (LETI/CEA technology) or by ion diffusion process (LEMO/ENSERG and GeeO technology). Based on excellent results with 2-telescope beam combiners in the near infrared band (atmospheric H band), the extension to three telescopes has been achieved with both technologies and different combination configurations (co-axial and multi-axial). The specific application of astronomical interferometry requires the full characterization of such components in term of global throughput, identification of photon losses, polarization maintaining properties, interferometric behavior in monochromatic and polychromatic cases.

Date Published: 5 July 2000
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 4006, Interferometry in Optical Astronomy, (5 July 2000); doi: 10.1117/12.390193

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4006:
Interferometry in Optical Astronomy
Pierre J. Lena; Andreas Quirrenbach, Editor(s)