The search for life beyond Earth requires space telescopes that peer further and capture fainter biosignatures than ever before. Instead of matching this need with bigger and more expensive instruments, NASA aims to revolutionize high-contrast imaging of exoplanets with photonic integrated circuit (PIC) devices. These tablet-sized chips replace or enhance existing coronagraph instruments that filter starlight to observe exoplanets.

Scientists from NASA Ames Research Center, in collaboration with Stanford and JPL, are leading the maturation of a PIC-based coronagraph instrument (AstroPIC) to a technology readiness of 3, in order to enable high-contrast imaging and spectral characterization of exoplanets at small angular separations.

AstroPIC uses the ability of photonic circuits to decompose wavefronts into constituent modes to enable better starlight suppression, and do it in a more compact, high-efficiency instrument. PICs are “universal devices” and can be programmed with the functionality of a bulk optics system.

Delivering a proof-of-concept for the application of photonic integrated circuits to replace traditional coronagraphs promises immense benefits for optical and near-infrared astronomy, which enables high-contrast imaging of exoplanets. This can result in a lightweight instrument for the Habitable Worlds Observatory that can augment instrument functionality to improve margin and reduce science risk for the mission. Primary benefits include:

• Minimizes mass, volume, and power: over 100x lighter, 30x smaller
• Improves efficiency: with sufficient development, would enable a greater sensitivity to exoplanets than the upper limit of traditional technologies.
• Improves risk margins: with sufficient development, AstroPIC can relax Habitable Worlds Observatory requirements, and increase science.
• Flexible: can be reprogrammed / reconfigured to optimize sensitivity to exoplanets based on properties of each individual target star