Focal Plane Phase Masks for PIAA: Design and Manufacturing

Abstract

The Phase Induced Amplitude Apodization Complex Mask Coronagraph (PIAACMC) is a coronagraph architecture for the direct detection of extrasolar planets, which can achieve close to the theoretical performance limit of any direct detection system. The primary components of a PIAACMC system are the Phase Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) optics and the complex phase-shifting focal plane mask. PIAA optics have been produced and demonstrated with high coronagraph performance. In this paper, we describe the design process for the phase-shifting focal plane mask, and strategies for smoothing the mask profile. We describe the mask manufacturing process and show manufacturing results. Errors in the fabricated mask profile degrade the system performance, but we can recover performance by refining the manufacturing process and implementing wavefront control.