2004/02/27 by J. H. Debes, John H. Debes, Jian Ge +5
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Surface Roughness and Optical Measurements #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/420734
published as Astrophys.J. 608 (2004) 1095-1099 · 12 pages, 4 figures, Accepted to ApJ
arxiv created 2004/02/27 · openalex publication_date 2004/06/11 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present the first laboratory experiments using a notch-filter mask, a coronagraphic image mask that can produce infinite dynamic range in an ideal Lyot coronagraph, according to scalar diffraction theory. We fabricated the first notch-filter mask prototype with 0.25 μm precision using an electron-beam lithography machine. Our initial optical tests show that the prototype masks generate contrast levels of 10 -5 at 3λ/ D and 10 -6 at ~8λ/ D , with a throughput of 27%. We speculate on the "as-is" performance of such a mask in the Hubble Space Telescope .