Our team aims to demonstrate a photonic Quantum-Inspired Imager (QI2) which provides source reconstruction below the optical/NIR diffraction limit in the presence of atmospheric turbulence without the need for adaptive optics. Turbulent cells in the atmosphere reduce image resolution by causing fluctuations in the phase of propagating wavefronts. Rather than relying on conventional methods of wavefront sensing, our approach leverages the spectral diversity inherent in the factors which limit resolution, thus breaking the degeneracy between these aberrating processes. Though this concept has long been employed in astronomy to achieve diffraction limited imaging, our approach achieves this necessary spectral diversity with a passive photonic lantern mode multiplexer that converts a multimode wavefront input into an array of spatially distinct single-mode outputs, from which we can deduce the atmospheric phase variations and reconstruct the source function. We present detailed simulations and laboratory tests demonstrating the QI2 approach in measuring atmospheric turbulence and correcting phase distortions.
We present results from development of a photonic Quantum-Inspired Imager (QI2) providing source reconstruction below the optical/NIR diffraction limit through atmospheric turbulence without adaptive optics. Our group has demonstrated a photonic spatial mode sorter quantum-sensing device in practice — a photonic lantern — with capabilities in both spatial and spectral diversity, as well as future extensions to polarization sensitivity. Our team has developed high-efficiency photonic lantern mode-sorting/multiplexing devices fabricated in optical fibers. Our proposed passive imaging system is therefore based on three main innovations: (i) photonic lantern spatial mode sorters with spatial and spectral diversity, (ii) atmospheric blur removal enabled by mode-/wavelength-resolution, (iii) quantum-inspired image reconstruction techniques.
KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Photonics, Spectroscopy, Commercial off the shelf technology, Analog to digital converters, Stars, Observatories, 3D modeling, Mirrors, Design and modelling
The PolyOculus technology, developed by CREOL’s Astrophonics group, creates a large-area-equivalent telescope using fiber optics and a photonic lantern to link several semi-autonomous, small, inexpensive, commercial-off-theshelf telescopes. The Original PolyOculus Array, OPA, will use seven, Celestron 11” telescopes with iOptron centralbalanced equatorial mounts (CEM 70) to create a ~0.75m equivalent optical telescope for spectroscopic follow up observations of astronomical events. This telescope array will include 7 acquisition and guiding systems (one per telescope) to appropriately center and finely focus objects in the telescopes’ field of view along with an atmospheric dispersion corrector for each unit. That light will then be sent through single, multimode, optical fibers (one fiber per telescope) and to a photonic lantern where the light from all seven telescopes will be combined then sent to a spectrograph. The photonic lantern has demonstrated over 91% efficiency in combined optical light. The Original PolyOculus Array will be commissioned and operated at Mount Laguna Observatory in southern California. OPA will be the prototype to an eventual, more numerous PolyOculus driven array and other future PolyOculus arrays with different applications.
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