DARKNESS: A Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector Integral Field Spectrograph for High-contrast Astronomy

Abstract

We present DARKNESS (the DARK-speckle Near-infrared Energy-resolving\nSuperconducting Spectrophotometer), the first of several planned integral field\nspectrographs to use optical/near-infrared Microwave Kinetic Inductance\nDetectors (MKIDs) for high-contrast imaging. The photon counting and\nsimultaneous low-resolution spectroscopy provided by MKIDs will enable\nreal-time speckle control techniques and post-processing speckle suppression at\nframerates capable of resolving the atmospheric speckles that currently limit\nhigh-contrast imaging from the ground. DARKNESS is now operational behind the\nPALM-3000 extreme adaptive optics system and the Stellar Double Coronagraph at\nPalomar Observatory. Here we describe the motivation, design, and\ncharacterization of the instrument, early on-sky results, and future prospects.\n