Pith. sign in

REVIEW 3 major objections 4 minor 1 cited by

Scalar vortex coronagraph mask design and predicted performance

T0 review · 3 major / 4 minor · reviewed 2026-08-14 · deepseek-v4-flash

Challenge this review Re-run · record.json Download PDF Read on arXiv ↗ Review JSON

Pith's one-line read Scalar vortex masks built from paired dielectric layers can, in theory, reach 3×10^-11 raw contrast, enough for Earth-like exoplanet imaging.

desk verdict A solid theoretical design study of scalar vortex masks; the headline 3e-11 contrast rests on an idealized mask model that omits central singularity and step-edge scattering. read the letter →

arxiv 1908.09786 v2 pith:6ZLDPB5B submitted 2019-08-26 astro-ph.IM physics.optics

Garreth Ruane , Dimitri Mawet , A J Eldorado Riggs , Eugene Serabyn This is my paper · ORCID
classification astro-ph.IMphysics.optics
keywords vortexcoronagraphscalarspiralphaseplateachromaticmaskexoplanetdirectimaginghigh-contraststellarleakagefocalplane
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal

The pith

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The reading

Vortex coronagraphs can block starlight to reveal planets, but the standard vector version leaks light because of liquid-crystal retardance errors and forces a 50% throughput loss from circular polarizers. This paper argues that scalar vortex masks—phase plates that apply the same optical vortex to all polarizations—can avoid these problems, and it shows how to build them achromatically from multiple dielectric layers. Using two carefully chosen photoresist spiral phase plates, the design keeps the vortex charge near 6 across a 20% band and, in simulation, reaches a normalized starlight irradiance of $3\times10^{-11}$ with a 0.8-radius Lyot stop and flat deformable mirrors. If the model survives manufacturing reality, scalar vortex coronagraphs could meet the raw-contrast budgets for imaging Earth-like exoplanets with future space telescopes.

What carries the argument

The vortex spectrum, the Fourier decomposition $C_m(\lambda) = \frac{1}{2\pi}\int_{-\pi}^{\pi} t(\theta,\lambda) e^{-im\theta} d\theta = \operatorname{sinc}(l(\lambda)-m)$, reduces chromatic leakage to a competition between the charge dispersion $l(\lambda)$ and the integer mode order. Even nonzero modes are perfectly rejected by the Lyot stop, so leakage below it is governed by $C_0$ and the odd modes; this makes $l(\lambda)$ the single design target. The multi-material spiral phase plate is the mechanism for shaping $l(\lambda)$: each plate contributes $l_j (n_j(\lambda)-1)/(n_j(\lambda_0)-1)$ times $\lambda_0/\lambda$, and the layer heights are optimized to keep the total charge near the design value across the passband.

What would settle it

Fabricate the two-material photoresist spiral phase plate, measure its transmitted phase profile with an interferometer, and place it in a coronagraph with a Lyot stop at $b/a=0.8$ and flat deformable mirrors; a normalized irradiance above roughly $10^{-10}$ across the 20% band, or any visible Airy-core leakage, would disprove the $3\times10^{-11}$ prediction.

Watch

Extended reading notes

Core claim

The paper's central claim is that scalar vortex coronagraphs, whose focal plane masks impart the same azimuthal phase ramp $t = \exp(i l(\lambda)\theta)$ regardless of polarization, can be made achromatic enough for terrestrial exoplanet imaging by stacking two dielectric spiral phase plates. The residual chromatic leakage follows from the vortex spectrum: $|C_m(\lambda)|^2 = \operatorname{sinc}^2(l(\lambda)-m)$. A single-material plate has $l(\lambda)=l_0\lambda_0/\lambda$, so power bleeds into neighboring modes; pairing two materials with complementary dispersion flattens $l(\lambda)$ near $l_0$. With photoresists and a charge-6 design over $\Delta\lambda/\lambda=0.2$, a Lyot stop at $b/a=0.8$ and flat deformable mirrors, the simulation gives normalized irradiance $3\times10^{-11}$ and 28% core throughput, which meets the benchmark for Earth-like planet detection.

Load-bearing premise

The predicted contrast assumes the real mask behaves exactly as an ideal azimuthal phase ramp $\exp(i l(\lambda)\theta)$ with no central defect, no radial phase variation, and no fabrication thickness errors; any of those would flood the dark zone with leaked starlight.

Editorial extensions

If this is right

  • A working scalar vortex mask removes the circular polarizer/analyzer pair required by vector vortex masks, so planet throughput can double.
  • At the example design, raw contrast $3\times10^{-11}$ with flat mirrors and $b/a=0.8$ shows wavefront control may be unnecessary for chromatic leakage if the mask is truly achromatic.
  • Undersizing the Lyot stop suppresses high-order odd leakage modes, with larger charge $l_0$ gaining more suppression from the same reduction in stop radius.
  • Even a single-material, strongly chromatic scalar mask can reach roughly $10^{-8}$ raw contrast with two deformable mirrors, making it viable for less demanding benchmarks.
  • Generalized azimuthal masks with discrete etch steps can offer similar cancellation while being easier to fabricate, at the cost of azimuthal throughput variations.

Reading between the lines

Editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The paper leaves implicit that the same vortex-spectrum optimization should carry over to sector and staircase masks by tuning layer depths to minimize odd-mode weights, which would let discrete-etch fabrication reach achromatic performance without smooth spiral ramps.
  • A testable extension is mapping the thickness-contrast Pareto front for higher-index material pairs such as diamond; if pitch multiplicity can reduce thickness, the design may become manufacturable at realistic tolerances.
  • Because the $3\times10^{-11}$ prediction assumes no wavefront error, a real telescope would still need separate control of mirror aberrations; the mask contrast is necessary, not sufficient, for an Earth-like image.
Share X Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit HN

Signed reviews

No signed human review yet.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, and a circularity audit.

Referee Report

3 major / 4 minor

Summary. The paper proposes scalar (polarization-independent) vortex coronagraph masks made from multi-layer dielectric structures as an alternative to vector vortex masks, arguing that these avoid retardance-error leakage and polarization splitting. It derives the modal decomposition and chromatic leakage of azimuthal phase masks with charge l(λ), studies the effect of an undersized Lyot stop and deformable-mirror wavefront control for the simple dispersion model l(λ)=l0 λ0/λ, and finally presents a two-material achromatic spiral phase plate whose charge is optimized to remain close to l0 across a passband. The best example reports a normalized irradiance of 3e-11 with a core throughput of 0.28, which the authors use to support the abstract's claim that such masks can, in theory, provide sufficient broadband starlight suppression for imaging Earth-like planets.

Significance. If the predicted performance is correct, the paper offers a credible path toward simpler, higher-throughput vortex coronagraphs for HabEx/LUVOIR-class missions. The strengths of the paper are the clean modal decomposition in Eqs. (7)-(8), the leakage analysis as a function of Lyot-stop radius (Fig. 7), and the use of an established simulation tool (FALCO) for the EFC results in Section 4 and Table 1; these parts are plausible and well matched to the stated model. However, the headline 3e-11 result in Section 5 rests on a single, minimally described example, and the entire study assumes an ideal azimuthal phase function with no central singularity, no finite edge transitions, and no fabrication errors. These omissions are load-bearing because they affect exactly the regime of raw contrast that the paper claims.

major comments (3)
  1. [Section 5 (Fig. 10)] The headline normalized irradiance of 3e-11 is presented without the simulation specification needed to reproduce or verify it. I could not find the passband, wavelength sampling, pupil model, final-image-plane dark-hole definition, or the propagation model used to convert the optimized l(λ) into the reported irradiance; the Fig. 10 caption reports only Inorm and core throughput. The optimization in Eq. (10) minimizes ∫|l(λ)-l0|² dλ, not contrast, so the 3e-11 value must be backed by an end-to-end propagation model or a closed-form leakage estimate with all assumptions stated. Because this number is the basis of the abstract's central claim, it is load-bearing and should be made fully reproducible.
  2. [Sections 2, 3.2.5, and 5] The performance model assumes an ideal azimuthal phase function t = exp(i l(λ)θ) with no radial dependence, no central singularity, and no finite transition at azimuthal discontinuities. A real two-material spiral phase plate has a finite central region and fabricated step edges (including pitch-multiplicity boundaries), whose scattering enters the Lyot stop and is not captured by the vortex-spectrum calculation. At a claimed contrast of 3e-11 this unmodeled leakage is plausibly at or above the headline level. Since the paper itself notes in Section 3.1 that scalar vortex masks have not been tested at high contrast, a sensitivity analysis for core size, edge rounding, and thickness or index errors is necessary before the predicted performance can be considered robust.
  3. [Section 5, Eq. (10)] The design objective is minimizing the integrated deviation of l(λ) from l0, which is a convenient proxy but not the coronagraph contrast. The reported 3e-11 appears to assume that residual deviations in l(λ) after optimization are the only leakage source; however, the actual raw contrast also depends on the Lyot-stop radius, the spectral weighting, and the exact residual l(λ) shape. Please state the relationship between the optimized l(λ) residuals and the reported irradiance, or replace the number with a direct propagation calculation of the optimized mask; otherwise the claim that the achromatic design achieves 3e-11 is unsupported.
minor comments (4)
  1. [Fig. 10] Please provide the optimized step heights Δd1 and Δd2, the material dispersion data used for the photoresists (including machine-readable numerical values rather than only URLs), and the values of λ0 and Δλ for both panels.
  2. [Section 3.2.4] The statement that the phase shift is 'theoretically the same' for all pitch multiplicities should be qualified as applying to the ideal mask, because the physical discontinuities and their finite transitions differ among the four cases.
  3. [Section 3.3] The assertion that a mask with dominant m = ±6 modes is 'at least as robust to aberrations as a charge 6 vortex coronagraph' appears heuristic; a short justification or a citation to the aberration-sensitivity analysis would make this claim precise.
  4. [Appendix A, Eqs. (21)-(33)] In the small-retardance approximations, please state explicitly that the expressions keep only first-order terms in ϵV and ϵQ, since Eq. (34) is then an approximation rather than an exact leakage formula.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged · score 0.0 of 10

No circular derivation: the Section 5 contrast is a simulation output from an independent coronagraph model, not a refit of the optimization metric.

full rationale

Section 5's two-material achromatic design minimizes Eq. (10), the integral of |l(λ)−l0|^2, which is an intermediate chromatic-charge error rather than the final contrast. The reported normalized irradiance of 3×10^-11 is then obtained from the full Fourier-optics coronagraph model (vortex spectrum, Lyot stop b/a = 0.8, flat deformable mirrors), so it is a simulation output and not set equal to the optimization metric by construction. The vortex spectrum in Eqs. (7)–(8) is an analytic identity for a mask transmission t = exp(ilθ); propagating the optimized l(λ) through this spectrum into a leakage estimate is a derivation, not a tautology. The EFC results in Table 1 rely on FALCO, which the authors developed and cite, but FALCO is a general coronagraph simulation and wavefront-control package; the raw contrasts are outputs of that numerical model, not fitted inputs. Self-citations in the Fig. 1 caption and FALCO references are contextual or tool citations and do not carry the central argument. The paper explicitly defers fabrication effects such as the central singularity, finite phase-step edges, and thickness errors (Secs. 3.3 and 5), which affects physical realism but does not make the derivation circular. No load-bearing step reduces by construction to its own input.

Assumptions & free parameters 4 free parameters · 6 assumptions · 0 invented entities

The central predictions rest on standard Fourier optics, ideal phase-mask behavior, datasheet refractive indices, and a clear unobscured pupil. The only design degrees of freedom are the chosen vortex charge, Lyot stop ratio, bandwidth, and optimized plate thicknesses. No new physical entities are introduced.

free parameters (4)
  • Design vortex charge l0 = 6 or 8
    Mission-driven choice (Section 2, Section 4.2); leakage magnitude and low-order aberration sensitivity depend on l0, and Table 1 reports separate performance for l0=6 and 8.
  • Relative Lyot stop radius b/a = 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, or 0.95
    Chosen to trade throughput for chromatic leakage suppression (Section 4.1); lower b/a improves suppression for high-order leakage modes.
  • Spectral bandwidth Delta lambda / lambda = 0.1 or 0.2
    Representative astronomical passbands; chromatic leakage scales approximately as (Delta lambda / lambda)^2 (Section 3.2.6).
  • Spiral plate step heights Delta d1 and Delta d2 = Not reported numerically; optimized to minimize integral of |l(lambda) - l0|^2
    The two-material achromatic design in Section 5 uses these heights to flatten the charge dispersion; the reported 3e-11 normalized irradiance depends on the optimization result, and a 4x thickness reduction degrades contrast to 7e-10.
assumptions (6)
  • standard math Scalar Fourier optics applies to propagation through the coronagraph (pupil to focal plane to Lyot stop).
    All leakage and EFC calculations use Fourier transforms; no vector diffraction corrections are included.
  • domain assumption An ideal vortex mask t = exp(i l theta) completely cancels starlight inside the Lyot stop for nonzero even integer l.
    Invoked in Section 2 and used to justify the vortex coronagraph architecture; this is a known result from the cited literature.
  • domain assumption The scalar mask is a pure phase element with no radial amplitude variation, described only by an azimuthal charge l(lambda).
    Introduced in Section 3.2.5, Eq. 7, where the transmission is expanded as t(theta, lambda) = sum C_m e^{i m theta}; real masks will have finite central defects and fabrication errors.
  • domain assumption The photoresist refractive index dispersion curves (MicroChem PMMA and SU-8) are accurate over the passband.
    Used in Section 5 to compute the achromatic l(lambda); if the datasheet values are inaccurate, the optimized plate heights produce a different l(lambda) and worse contrast.
  • domain assumption The telescope pupil is a clear, unobscured circular aperture.
    The paper targets off-axis space telescopes (Section 1); all simulations assume no central obstruction, which is required for the simple vortex cancellation.
  • domain assumption The deformable mirror surfaces computed by EFC can be physically realized with negligible fitting error.
    Tables 1 and Fig. 8 report DM surface RMS values of 12 to 71 nm; the predicted contrasts assume these shapes are applied exactly.

how reviews work

0 comments
Cite this review

Pith. "Pith review of Scalar vortex coronagraph mask design and predicted performance." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/6ZLDPB5B

@misc{pith2026190809786,
  author       = {Pith},
  title        = {Pith review of: Scalar vortex coronagraph mask design and predicted performance},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/6ZLDPB5B}},
  note         = {Machine review of arXiv:1908.09786}
}
abstract

Vortex coronagraphs are an attractive solution for imaging exoplanets with future space telescopes due to their relatively high throughput, large spectral bandwidth, and low sensitivity to low-order aberrations compared to other coronagraphs with similar inner working angles. Most of the vortex coronagraph mask development for space applications has focused on generating a polychromatic, vectorial, optical vortex using multiple layers of liquid crystal polymers. While this approach has been the most successful thus far, current fabrication processes achieve retardance errors of 0.1-1.0$^\circ$, which causes a nonnegligible fraction of the starlight to leak through the coronagraph. Circular polarizers are typically used to reject the stellar leakage reducing the throughput by a factor of two. Vector vortex masks also complicate wavefront control because they imprint conjugated phase ramps on the orthogonal circular polarization components, which may need to be split in order to properly sense and suppress the starlight. Scalar vortex masks can potentially circumvent these limitations by applying the same phase shift to all incident light regardless of the polarization state and thus have the potential to significantly improve the performance of vortex coronagraphs. We present scalar vortex coronagraph designs that make use of focal plane masks with multiple layers of dielectrics that (a) produce phase patterns that are relatively friendly to standard manufacturing processes and (b) achieve sufficient broadband starlight suppression, in theory, for imaging Earth-like planets with future space telescopes.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 1908.09786 by the authors.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic of a vortex coronagraph with two deformable mirrors (DM1 and DM2), a phase-only focal plane mask [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. A spiral phase plate. (a) The surface height, [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Charge 6 spiral phase plate with pitch multiplicity of (a) [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_3.png] view at source ↗
Figures from the paper (7 more)
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Modal decomposition of a scalar vortex mask with [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_4.png]
Figure 5
Figure 5. Figure 5: (a)-(d) Scalar phase masks with similar properties to vortex coronagraphs, including (a) an azimuthal cosine [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p006_5.png]
Figure 6
Figure 6. Figure 6: Throughput for a planet at an angular separation of 6 [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_6.png]
Figure 7
Figure 7. Figure 7: (a) Field amplitude as a function of radial coordinate in the second pupil (see Fig. 1) for odd vortex modes. The [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_7.png]
Figure 8
Figure 8. Figure 8: EFC solutions for a scalar vortex coronagraph with [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p008_8.png]
Figure 9
Figure 9. Figure 9: EFC convergence versus iteration for cases (a) 1 and (b) 2. Case 1 has ∆ [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p009_9.png]
Figure 10
Figure 10. Figure 10: Charge as a function of wavelength, l(λ), for two examples of achromatic spiral phase plate combinations with (a) no thickness constraints and (b) reduced thicknesses to illustrate the tradeoff between the mask thickness and raw contrast (approximated by the normalize…

Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.

Forward citations

Cited by 1 Pith paper

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. Single-shot focal plane wavefront sensing with the spatially-clipped self-coherent camera

    astro-ph.IM 2025-09 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    The Spatially-Clipped Self-Coherent Camera (SCSCC) senses wavefronts in a single shot and, in simulations, digs a 5-20 lambda/D dark hole to ~4e-10 intensity, about 50x deeper than pairwise probing for fast-evolving speckles.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

64 extracted references · 38 canonical work pages · cited by 1 Pith paper

  1. [1]

    The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) Mission Concept Study Interim Report,

    Gaudi, B. S., Seager, S., Mennesson, B., Kiessling, A., Warfield, K., Kuan, G., Cahoy, K., Clarke, J. T., Domagal- Goldman, S., Feinberg, L., Guyon, O., Kasdin, J., Mawet, D., Robinson, T., Rogers, L., Scowen, P., Somerville, R., Stapelfeldt, K., Stark, C., Stern, D., Turnbull, M., Martin, S., Alvarez-Salazar, O., Amini, R., Arnold, W., Balasubramanian, B....

    arXiv 2018

  2. [2]

    The LUVOIR Mission Concept Study Interim Report

    The LUVOIR Team, “The LUVOIR Mission Concept Study Interim Report,” ArXiv e-prints , 1809.09668 (2018)

    work page Pith review arXiv 2018

  3. [3]

    The LUVOIR architecture

    Pueyo, L., Zimmerman, N., Bolcar, M., Groff, T., Stark, C., Ruane, G., Jewell, J., Soummer, R., Laurent, K. S., Wang, J., Redding, D., Mazoyer, J., Fogarty, K., Juanola-Parramon, R., Domagal-Goldman, S., Roberge, A., Guyon, O., and Mandell, A., “The LUVOIR architecture ”A” coronagraph instrument,” Proc. SPIE 10398, 103980F (2017)

    work page 2017

  4. [4]

    Annular Groove Phase Mask Coronagraph,

    Mawet, D., Riaud, P., Absil, O., and Surdej, J., “Annular Groove Phase Mask Coronagraph,” Astrophys. J. 633, 1191–1200 (2005)

    2005

  5. [5]

    Optical vortex coronagraph,

    Foo, G., Palacios, D. M., and Swartzlander, G. A., “Optical vortex coronagraph,” Opt. Lett. 30, 3308–3310 (2005)

    2005

  6. [6]

    Vortex coronagraphs for the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) concept: theoretical performance and telescope requirements,

    Ruane, G., Mawet, D., Mennesson, B., Jewell, J., and Shaklan, S., “Vortex coronagraphs for the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) concept: theoretical performance and telescope requirements,” J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst. 4(1), 015004 (2018)

    2018

  7. [7]

    ExoEarth yield landscape for future direct imaging space telescopes,

    Stark, C. C., Belikov, R., Bolcar, M. R., Cady, E., Crill, B. P., Ertel, S., Groff, T., Hildebrandt, S., Krist, J., Lisman, P. D., Mazoyer, J., Mennesson, B., Nemati, B., Pueyo, L., Rauscher, B. J., Riggs, A. J., Ruane, G., Shaklan, S. B., Sirbu, D., Soummer, R., Laurent, K. S., and Zimmerman, N., “ExoEarth yield landscape for future direct imaging space t...

    work page 2019

  8. [8]

    Pancharatnam, S. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 44, 247 (1956)

    work page 1956

Show all 64 references
  1. [9]

    Quantal Phase Factors Accompanying Adiabatic Changes,

    Berry, M. V., “Quantal Phase Factors Accompanying Adiabatic Changes,” Proc. Royal Soc. Lond. A 392, 45–57 (1984)

    1984

  2. [10]

    Generation of doughnut laser beams by use of a liquid-crystal cell with a conversion efficiency near 100%,

    Ganic, D., Gan, X., Gu, M., Hain, M., Somalingam, S., Stankovic, S., and Tschudi, T., “Generation of doughnut laser beams by use of a liquid-crystal cell with a conversion efficiency near 100%,” Opt. Lett. 27(15), 1351–1353 (2002)

    2002

  3. [11]

    Optical Spin-to-Orbital Angular Momentum Conversion in Inhomogeneous Anisotropic Media,

    Marrucci, L., Manzo, C., and Paparo, D., “Optical Spin-to-Orbital Angular Momentum Conversion in Inhomogeneous Anisotropic Media,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 96(16), 163905 (2006)

    2006

  4. [12]

    Optical Vectorial Vortex Coronagraphs using Liquid Crystal Polymers: theory, manufacturing and laboratory demonstration,

    Mawet, D., Serabyn, E., Liewer, K., Hanot, C., McEldowney, S., Shemo, D., and O’Brien, N., “Optical Vectorial Vortex Coronagraphs using Liquid Crystal Polymers: theory, manufacturing and laboratory demonstration,” Opt. Express 17, 1902–1918 (2009)

    2009

  5. [13]

    The Vector Vortex Coronagraph: sensitivity to central obscuration, low-order aberrations, chromaticism, and polarization,

    Mawet, D., Pueyo, L., Moody, D., Krist, J., and Serabyn, E., “The Vector Vortex Coronagraph: sensitivity to central obscuration, low-order aberrations, chromaticism, and polarization,” Proc. SPIE 7739, 773914 (2010)

    2010

  6. [14]

    The Vector Vortex Coronagraph: Laboratory Results and First Light at Palomar Observatory,

    Mawet, D., Serabyn, E., Liewer, K., Burruss, R., Hickey, J., and Shemo, D., “The Vector Vortex Coronagraph: Laboratory Results and First Light at Palomar Observatory,” Astrophys. J. 709, 53–57 (2010)

    2010

  7. [15]

    Formation of helical beams by use of Pancharatnam–Berry phase optical elements,

    Biener, G., Niv, A., Kleiner, V., and Hasman, E., “Formation of helical beams by use of Pancharatnam–Berry phase optical elements,” Opt. Lett. 27(21), 1875–1877 (2002)

    2002

  8. [16]

    Subwavelength surface-relief gratings for stellar coronagraphy,

    Mawet, D., Riaud, P., Surdej, J., and Baudrand, J., “Subwavelength surface-relief gratings for stellar coronagraphy,” Appl. Opt. 44(34), 7313–7321 (2005)

    2005

  9. [17]

    Polychromatic vectorial vortex formed by geometric phase elements,

    Niv, A., Biener, G., Kleiner, V., and Hasman, E., “Polychromatic vectorial vortex formed by geometric phase elements,” Opt. Lett. 32(7), 847–849 (2007)

    2007

  10. [18]

    Design and laboratory demonstration of an achromatic vector vortex coronagraph,

    Murakami, N., Hamaguchi, S., Sakamoto, M., Fukumoto, R., Ise, A., Oka, K., Baba, N., and Tamura, M., “Design and laboratory demonstration of an achromatic vector vortex coronagraph,” Opt. Express 21, 7400–7410 (2013)

    2013

  11. [19]

    Ultra-thin plasmonic optical vortex plate based on phase discontinuities,

    Genevet, P., Yu, N., Aieta, F., Lin, J., Kats, M. A., Blanchard, R., Scully, M. O., Gaburro, Z., and Capasso, F., “Ultra-thin plasmonic optical vortex plate based on phase discontinuities,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 100(1), 013101 (2012)

    2012

  12. [20]

    Generating optical orbital angular momentum at visible wavelengths using a plasmonic metasurface,

    Karimi, E., Schulz, S. A., De Leon, I., Qassim, H., Upham, J., and Boyd, R. W., “Generating optical orbital angular momentum at visible wavelengths using a plasmonic metasurface,” Light Sci. Appl. 3, e167 (2014)

    2014

  13. [21]

    Achromatic orbital angular momentum generator,

    Bouchard, F., Mand, H., Mirhosseini, M., Karimi, E., and Boyd, R. W., “Achromatic orbital angular momentum generator,” New J. Phys. 16(12), 123006 (2014)

    2014

  14. [22]

    Improving vector vortex waveplates for high-contrast coronagraphy,

    Nersisyan, S. R., Tabiryan, N. V., Mawet, D., and Serabyn, E., “Improving vector vortex waveplates for high-contrast coronagraphy,” Opt. Express 21(7), 8205–8213 (2013)

    2013

  15. [23]

    Vector vortex coronagraphy for exoplanet detection with spatially variant diffractive waveplates,

    Serabyn, E., Prada, C. M., Chen, P., and Mawet, D., “Vector vortex coronagraphy for exoplanet detection with spatially variant diffractive waveplates,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 36(5), D13–D19 (2019)

    2019

  16. [24]

    Astronomical demonstration of an optical vortex coronagraph,

    Swartzlander, G. A., Ford, E. L., Abdul-Malik, R. S., Close, L. M., Peters, M. A., Palacios, D. M., and Wilson, D. W., “Astronomical demonstration of an optical vortex coronagraph,” Opt. Express 16, 10200 (2008)

    2008

  17. [25]

    A broad-band scalar vortex coronagraph,

    Errmann, R., Minardi, S., and Pertsch, T., “A broad-band scalar vortex coronagraph,” Mon. Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 435(1), 565–569 (2013)

    2013

  18. [26]

    Vortex-phase filtering technique for extracting spatial information from unresolved sources,

    Ruane, G., Kanburapa, P., Han, J., and Swartzlander, G. A., “Vortex-phase filtering technique for extracting spatial information from unresolved sources,” Appl. Opt. 53(20), 4503–4508 (2014)

    2014

  19. [27]

    The phase rotor filter,

    Khonina, S., Kotlyar, V., Shinkaryev, M., Soifer, V., and Uspleniev, G., “The phase rotor filter,” J. Mod. Opt 39(5), 1147–1154 (1992)

    1992

  20. [28]

    Generation of optical phase singularities by computer-generated holograms,

    Heckenberg, N. R., McDuff, R., Smith, C. P., and White, A. G., “Generation of optical phase singularities by computer-generated holograms,” Opt. Lett. 17(3), 221–223 (1992)

    1992

  21. [29]

    Efficient radially polarized laser beam generation with a double interferometer,

    Tidwell, S. C., Kim, G. H., and Kimura, W. D., “Efficient radially polarized laser beam generation with a double interferometer,” Appl. Opt. 32(27), 5222–5229 (1993)

    1993

  22. [30]

    Achromatic optical vortex lens,

    Swartzlander, G. A., “Achromatic optical vortex lens,” Opt. Lett. 31(13), 2042–2044 (2006)

    2006

  23. [31]

    Terrestrial exoplanet coronagraph image quality: study of polarization aberrations in Habex and LUVOIR update,

    Breckinridge, J. B., Kupinski, M., Davis, J., Daugherty, B., and Chipman, R. A., “Terrestrial exoplanet coronagraph image quality: study of polarization aberrations in Habex and LUVOIR update,” Proc. SPIE 10698, 106981D (2018)

    2018

  24. [32]

    High-contrast imaging results with the vortex coronagraph,

    Serabyn, E., Trauger, J., Moody, D., Mawet, D., Liewer, K., Krist, J., and Kern, B., “High-contrast imaging results with the vortex coronagraph,” Proc. SPIE 8864, 88640Y (2013)

    2013

  25. [33]

    Broadband wavefront correction algorithm for high-contrast imaging systems,

    Give’on, A., Kern, B., Shaklan, S., Moody, D. C., and Pueyo, L., “Broadband wavefront correction algorithm for high-contrast imaging systems,” Proc. SPIE 6691, 66910A (2007)

    2007

  26. [34]

    ACCESS: A Space Coronagraph Concept for Direct Imaging and Spectroscopy of Exoplanetary Systems

    Trauger, J., Alexander, J., Brugarolas, P., Dawson, O., Gappinger, R., Henry, C., Krist, J., Mawet, D., Mireles, V., Moody, D., Park, P., Pueyo, L., Serabyn, E., Shaklan, S., Stapelfeldt, K., Trauger, J., Traub, W., Guyon, O., Belikov, R., Kasdin, J., Spergel, D., Vanderbei, R...

  27. [35]

    Analysis of azimuthal phase mask coronagraphs,

    H´ enault, F., “Analysis of azimuthal phase mask coronagraphs,” Opt. Commun. 423, 186–199 (2018)

    2018

  28. [36]

    The Four-Quadrant Phase-Mask Coronagraph. I. Principle,

    Rouan, D., Riaud, P., Boccaletti, A., Cl´ enet, Y., and Labeyrie, A., “The Four-Quadrant Phase-Mask Coronagraph. I. Principle,” Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 112, 1479–1486 (2000)

    2000

  29. [37]

    An eight-octant phase-mask coronagraph,

    Murakami, N., Uemura, R., Baba, N., Nishikawa, J., Tamura, M., Hashimoto, N., and Abe, L., “An eight-octant phase-mask coronagraph,” Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 120(872), 1112–1118 (2008)

    2008

  30. [38]

    Experimental verification of an optical vortex coronagraph,

    Lee, J. H., Foo, G., Johnson, E. G., and Swartzlander, G. A., “Experimental verification of an optical vortex coronagraph,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 053901 (2006)

    2006

  31. [39]

    Optical vortices generated by multi-level achromatic spiral phase plates for broadband beams,

    Xie, Q. and Zhao, D., “Optical vortices generated by multi-level achromatic spiral phase plates for broadband beams,” Opt. Commun. 281(1), 7 – 11 (2008)

    2008

  32. [40]

    Optical vortex coronagraphs on ground-based telescopes,

    Jenkins, C., “Optical vortex coronagraphs on ground-based telescopes,” Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 384, 515–524 (2008)

    2008

  33. [41]

    Wide-band coronagraph with sinusoidal phase in the angular direction,

    Ma, O., Cao, Q., and Hou, F., “Wide-band coronagraph with sinusoidal phase in the angular direction,” Opt. Express 20(10), 10933–10943 (2012)

    2012

  34. [42]

    Wide-band six-region phase mask coronagraph,

    Hou, F., Cao, Q., Zhu, M., and Ma, O., “Wide-band six-region phase mask coronagraph,” Opt. Express 22(2), 1884–1895 (2014)

    2014

  35. [43]

    Generation of high-order optical vortices using directly machined spiral phase mirrors,

    Campbell, G., Hage, B., Buchler, B., and Lam, P. K., “Generation of high-order optical vortices using directly machined spiral phase mirrors,” Appl. Opt. 51(7), 873–876 (2012)

    2012

  36. [44]

    Helical-wavefront laser beams produced with a spiral phaseplate,

    Beijersbergen, M. W., Coerwinkel, R. P. C., Kristensen, M., and Woerdman, J. P., “Helical-wavefront laser beams produced with a spiral phaseplate,” Opt. Commun. 112, 321–327 (1994)

    1994

  37. [45]

    Production and characterization of spiral phase plates for optical wavelengths,

    Oemrawsingh, S. S. R., van Houwelingen, J. A. W., Eliel, E. R., Woerdman, J. P., Verstegen, E. J. K., Kloosterboer, J. G., and ’t Hooft, G. W., “Production and characterization of spiral phase plates for optical wavelengths,” Appl. Opt. 43(3), 688–694 (2004)

    2004

  38. [46]

    Fabrication of a three-dimensional optical vortices phase mask for astronomy by means of electron-beam lithogra- phy,

    Prasciolu, M., Tamburini, F., Anzolin, G., Mari, E., Melli, M., Carpentiero, A., Barbieri, C., and Romanato, F., “Fabrication of a three-dimensional optical vortices phase mask for astronomy by means of electron-beam lithogra- phy,” Microelectronic Engineering 86(4), 1103 – 11...

    2009

  39. [47]

    Fabrication and testing of l = 2 optical vortex phase masks for coronography,

    Mari, E., Anzolin, G., Tamburini, F., Prasciolu, M., Umbriaco, G., Bianchini, A., Barbieri, C., and Romanato, F., “Fabrication and testing of l = 2 optical vortex phase masks for coronography,” Opt. Express 18(3), 2339–2344 (2010)

    2010

  40. [48]

    Design, fabrication and characterization of phase masks for astronomical applications,

    Massari, M., Romanato, F., Carli, M., Ongarello, T., Prasciolu, M., Tamburini, F., Mari, E., Bianchini, A., and Barbieri, C., “Design, fabrication and characterization of phase masks for astronomical applications,” Microelectronic Engineering 88(8), 2675 – 2678 (2011)

    2011

  41. [49]

    Fabrication and characterization of high-quality spiral phase plates for optical applications,

    Massari, M., Ruffato, G., Gintoli, M., Ricci, F., and Romanato, F., “Fabrication and characterization of high-quality spiral phase plates for optical applications,” Appl. Opt. 54(13), 4077–4083 (2015)

    2015

  42. [50]

    Generating optical vortex with large topological charges by spiral phase plates in cascaded and double-pass configuration,

    Wang, C., Liu, T., Ren, Y., Shao, Q., and Dong, H., “Generating optical vortex with large topological charges by spiral phase plates in cascaded and double-pass configuration,” Optik 171, 404 – 412 (2018)

    2018

  43. [51]

    Broadband nulling of a vortex phase mask,

    Swartzlander, G. A., “Broadband nulling of a vortex phase mask,” Opt. Lett. 30(21), 2876–2878 (2005)

    2005

  44. [52]

    Complex apodized lyot coronagraph for exoplanet imaging with partially obscured telescope apertures,

    Trauger, J., Moody, D., and Gordon, B., “Complex apodized lyot coronagraph for exoplanet imaging with partially obscured telescope apertures,” Proc. SPIE 8864, 886412 (2013)

    2013

  45. [53]

    Fast linearized coronagraph optimizer (FALCO) I: a software toolbox for rapid coronagraphic design and wavefront correction,

    Riggs, A., Ruane, G., Coker, C. T., Sidick, E., Shaklan, S. B., and Kern, B. D., “Fast linearized coronagraph optimizer (FALCO) I: a software toolbox for rapid coronagraphic design and wavefront correction,”Proc. SPIE 10698, 106982V (2018)

    2018

  46. [54]

    Fast linearized coronagraph optimizer (FALCO) II: optical model validation and time savings over other methods,

    Sidick, E., Riggs, A., Ruane, G., Krist, J., Moody, D., and Coker, C. T., “Fast linearized coronagraph optimizer (FALCO) II: optical model validation and time savings over other methods,” Proc. SPIE 10698, 106984S (2018)

    2018

  47. [55]

    Fast Linearized Coronagraph Optimizer (FALCO) III: optimization of key coronagraph design parameters,

    Coker, C. T., Ruane, G., Riggs, A., Sidick, E., Seo, B.-J., Kern, B., Marx, D., and Shaklan, S. B., “Fast Linearized Coronagraph Optimizer (FALCO) III: optimization of key coronagraph design parameters,” Proc. SPIE 10698, 1069851 (2018)

    2018

  48. [56]

    Fast linearized coronagraph optimizer (FALCO) IV: coronagraph design survey for obstructed and segmented apertures,

    Ruane, G., Riggs, A., Coker, C. T., Shaklan, S. B., Sidick, E., Mawet, D., Jewell, J., Balasubramanian, K., and Stark, C. C., “Fast linearized coronagraph optimizer (FALCO) IV: coronagraph design survey for obstructed and segmented apertures,” Proc. SPIE 10698, 106984U (2018)

    2018

  49. [57]

    Diamond micro-optics: microlenses and antireflection structured surfaces for the infrared spectral region,

    Karlsson, M. and Nikolajeff, F., “Diamond micro-optics: microlenses and antireflection structured surfaces for the infrared spectral region,” Opt. Express 11(5), 502–507 (2003)

    2003

  50. [58]

    The W. M. Keck Observatory Infrared Vortex Coronagraph and a First Image of HIP 79124 B,

    Serabyn, E., Huby, E., Matthews, K., Mawet, D., Absil, O., Femenia, B., Wizinowich, P., Karlsson, M., Bottom, M., Campbell, R., Carlomagno, B., Defr` ere, D., Delacroix, C., Forsberg, P., Gonzalez, C. G., Habraken, S., Jolivet, A., Liewer, K., Lilley, S., Piron, P., Reggiani, ...

    2017

  51. [59]

    Deep Imaging Search for Planets Forming in the TW Hya Protoplanetary Disk with the Keck/NIRC2 Vortex Coronagraph,

    Ruane, G., Mawet, D., Kastner, J., Meshkat, T., Bottom, M., Femen´ ıa Castell´ a, B., Absil, O., Gomez Gonzalez, C., Huby, E., Zhu, Z., Jenson-Clem, R., Choquet, ´E., and Serabyn, E., “Deep Imaging Search for Planets Forming in the TW Hya Protoplanetary Disk with the Keck/NIRC...

    2017

  52. [60]

    Reference Star Differential Imaging of Close-in Companions and Circumstellar Disks with the NIRC2 Vortex Coronagraph at the W. M. Keck Observatory,

    Ruane, G., Ngo, H., Mawet, D., Absil, O., Choquet, ´E., Cook, T., Gomez Gonzalez, C., Huby, E., Matthews, K., Meshkat, T., Reggiani, M., Serabyn, E., Wallack, N., and Xuan, W. J., “Reference Star Differential Imaging of Close-in Companions and Circumstellar Disks with the NIRC2...

    2019

  53. [61]

    Efficient Spectroscopy of Exoplanets at Small Angular Separations with Vortex Fiber Nulling,

    Ruane, G., Wang, J., Mawet, D., Jovanovic, N., Delorme, J.-R., Mennesson, B., and Wallace, J. K., “Efficient Spectroscopy of Exoplanets at Small Angular Separations with Vortex Fiber Nulling,” Astrophys. J. 867(2), 143 (2018)

    2018

  54. [62]

    Vortex fiber nulling for exoplanet observations. I. Experimental demonstration in monochromatic light,

    Echeverri, D., Ruane, G., Jovanovic, N., Mawet, D., and Levraud, N., “Vortex fiber nulling for exoplanet observations. I. Experimental demonstration in monochromatic light,” Opt. Lett. 44(9), 2204–2207 (2019)

    2019

  55. [63]

    Vortex fiber nulling for exoplanet observations: conceptual design, theoretical performance, and initial scientific yield predictions,

    Ruane, G., Echeverri, D., Jovanovic, N., Mawet, D., Serabyn, E., Wallace, J. K., Wang, J., and Batalha, N., “Vortex fiber nulling for exoplanet observations: conceptual design, theoretical performance, and initial scientific yield predictions,” Proc. SPIE 11117 (2019)

    2019

  56. [64]

    The Vortex Fiber Nulling Mode of the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC),

    Echeverri, D., Ruane, G., Jovanovic, N., Delorme, J.-R., Pezzato, J., Mawet, D., and Wallace, J. K., “The Vortex Fiber Nulling Mode of the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC),” Proc. SPIE 11117 (2019)

    2019

Pith tools

Reviewed August 14, 2026 · model on record in the stance chip above.