Jeremy Allington-Smith AstroPhotonica Europa coordinator Centre for Advanced Instrumentation Durham University Approaching end of jet NE Nucleus Part of Disk Receding end of jet SW Astrophotonics promise Opticon Board Meeting Nov 2008, Porto This talk focusses on PROMISE not PROGRAMMATICS

Jeremy Allington-Smith Acknowledgements Pierre Kern* (LAOGrenoble) Joss Bland-Hawthorn* (U. Sydney; AAO) Martin Roth* (AIP) Robert Thomson (Heriot Watt U) Tim Birks (U. Bath) Jason Corbett (CfAI, Durham U + )... and their associates... and all our partners in AstroPhotonica Europa (includes Porto, ESO, MPIA…..) * Opticon-FP7 co-investigators, + now at Malvern Instruments

Jeremy Allington-Smith What is it? Astrophotonics = Astronomy + Photonics The application of photonic principles and devices to astronomy Astrophotonica Europa = a European partnership to achieve this goal

Jeremy Allington-Smith Why we need it Main themes for astronomy –Equation of state of the universe –Galactic archaelogy –Extrasolar planets; AGN studies → large aperture and high spatial resolution → ELTs → very high spatial resolution → LBOIRI AstroPhotonics can bring major benefits to: –Highly-multiplexed spectroscopy – a critical technique - –Specific technical problems for ELTs to be solved –Improved utility of long-baseline opt/IR interferometry –Pre-dispersion removal of telluric background

Jeremy Allington-Smith What actually is photonics?  Examples: Photonic crystal fibres (1-D) Slab waveguides (2-D; VPHg a very simple example) Waveguide arrays (3-D) The behaviour of a medium depends not only on the type of its constituent atoms but also on the geometrical layout of the atomic oscillators

Jeremy Allington-Smith Index guidance Reflection of light from medium of index higher than that of cladding Reflection of light from medium of index lower than that of the cladding Photonic band-gap Photonics in 1D: PCFs

Jeremy Allington-Smith Applications PCF capabilities Long-baseline interferometry OH suppression Highly-multiplexed spectroscopy Miniaturisation for ELTs

Jeremy Allington-Smith New fibre technology Extended wavelength range for PCFs: –Endlessly single mode (interferometry) –New materials and construction for e.g. infrared Fibres designed for multiplexing –Multicore + “nano-lens” arrays = micro IFUs Telluric background rejection –Suppression of airglow forest Etendue conservation via single modes ? –No Focal ratio degradation –Large coupling interface (mode area; LMA) ~10 recent papers by AAO & Durham

Jeremy Allington-Smith Interferometry (long-baseline opt/IR) Long heritage in interferometry: FLUOR, OHANA, IONIC Specific photonic solutions for critical functions: –beam combination –light transport (PCF junctions/switches) Integrated Optics to simplify complexity of multilayer systems via e.g…. On-chip integration - e.g. novel fringe tracker via Lipmann interfometry Single photon detectors (Grenoble Quantum Dots (St Andrews, ATC) Brief summary - interface with interferometry and fast detectors activities in OPTICON

Jeremy Allington-Smith OH suppression NIR airglow emission  artefacts & reduced SNR Extended wings due to disperser  Remove before dispersion Currently limited by number of modes coupled from telescope * OpEx, 12, 5902 ** Opt. Lett Bland-Hawthorn et al. (2004)*; Leon-Saval et al, (2005)**  = Numerical aperture d = fibre core diameter (40-100µm) (40-100µm)  10 < M <100

Jeremy Allington-Smith Mode manipulation and coupling SG Leon-Saval et al, Opt. Lett. 30 (2005) µm 145 µm Slide from Tim Birks University of Bath

Jeremy Allington-Smith x y Datacube Multiplexed spectroscopy MOS Must dilutely sample field due to detector cost Need arbitrary choice of spaxels contiguous or not Diverse Field SpectroscopyMOS+IFS = Diverse Field Spectroscopy

Celestial Selector For DFS Primary feed Switcher Spectrograph feed Telescope focus Selected regions Spectrograph slit Observation control Spectrographs Recorded spectra Integrated optics Tiny replicated spectrometers Novel fibres (PCFs) Murray & Allington-Smith (in prep) Allington-Smith, Murray & Padgett (in prep)

Jeremy Allington-Smith R. Content et al. (Durham) Miniaturising instruments? Gigantic integral field unit for ELT (GSMT) IFU Beam size ~250mm R = 2000 Fore-optics & pickoff mirrors Dimensions: 6 x 7 x 8m Reduce volume by factor 50? Thomson, Kar & Allington-Smith (2008)

Jeremy Allington-Smith Telescope focus Massively multiplexed Sliced/IFU Photonic spectrograph Multimode fibres Data Multi-mono mode transition Arrayed Waveguide Grating Linear Detector array Integrated Photonic spectrograph Multi-mono mode transition Arrayed Waveguide Grating Linear Detector array Integrated Photonic spectrograph Multi-mono mode transition Arrayed Waveguide Grating Linear Detector array Integrated Photonic spectrograph Multi-mono mode transition Arrayed Waveguide Grating Linear Detector array Integrated Photonic spectrograph Multi-mono mode transition Photonic Disperser (AWG,Lipmann) Linear Detector array Integrated Photonic spectrograph One miniature integrated photonic spectrograph per fibre One miniature integrated photonic spectrograph per fibre Demonstrated but not in integrated device Demonstrated but not in integrated device Devices exist but not integrated to detector Exists but not integrated in spectrograph Exists but not integrated in spectrograph

Jeremy Allington-Smith Photonic disperser: AWG Arrayed Waveguide Gratings avoid geometrical limits of SL gratings using phased fibre arrays Potential size advantage of 5-10 in linear size;  cost factor ! (Bland-Hawthorn et al., AAO)

Jeremy Allington-Smith Photonic disperser: “SWIFTS” Detect evanescent field in waveguide Detectors? –SSPD –Quantum dots LeCoarer et al. Nature Photonics 1, 473 (2007)

Jeremy Allington-Smith Enabling tchnology: ULI OHS by multi-singlemode transitions and photonic phased array dispersers need 3D waveguide networks Thomson, Kar & Allington-Smith (OpEx submitted) propose Ultrafast laser inscription ( Thomson et al. OpEx 15, (2007). Highly focussed, steerable laser changes refractive index in suitable materials when power density exceeds a threshold near focus

Jeremy Allington-Smith ULI 3D waveguides OHS: Replace complicated PCF transition with mass-producible units Photonic disperser: maximise phase shift via spiral geometry

Jeremy Allington-Smith Organisation Exploit recent advances in Photonics by telecommunications industry Build on Europe’s innovation heritage (e.g IFS) Get together with your friends → AstroPhotonica Europa partnership

Jeremy Allington-Smith AstroPhotonica Europa E xploitation of photonic principles for astronomy and related areas, using and enriching the existing research and industrial infrastructure The primary goal is to make instruments for ELTs affordable and practicable by exploiting photonic principles Telecommunications has driven photonic innovation so far but… Extremely large telescopes may be contingent on photonic integration of bulky instruments and photonic devices to improve resolutionExtremely large telescopes may be contingent on photonic integration of bulky instruments and photonic devices to improve resolution The use of photonic devices will therefore aid our understanding of the origins of the cosmos and of ourselvesThe use of photonic devices will therefore aid our understanding of the origins of the cosmos and of ourselves This will build on the lead in instrument innovation already established by Europe and its strategic partnersThis will build on the lead in instrument innovation already established by Europe and its strategic partners Astronomy’s synergy with medical imaging and environmental sensing will allow us also to explore applications in these areasAstronomy’s synergy with medical imaging and environmental sensing will allow us also to explore applications in these areas Benefits from this programme will flow back to industry to enhance European expertise in a strategically-important sectorBenefits from this programme will flow back to industry to enhance European expertise in a strategically-important sector A European research partnership

Jeremy Allington-Smith AstroPhotonica Europa Partnership UK/France/Germany/Netherlands/Spain/Portugal Astronomy InstitutesAstronomy Institutes Photonics institutesPhotonics institutes Foundries (detailed design and prototyping)Foundries (detailed design and prototyping)Funding EU via OPTICON (FP7 support)EU via OPTICON (FP7 support) National and regional funding (e.g. InnoFspec, Potsdam)National and regional funding (e.g. InnoFspec, Potsdam) In-kind contributions of effort and facilitiesIn-kind contributions of effort and facilitiesActivities Workshops & NetworkingWorkshops & Networking Research & assessmentResearch & assessmentSynergies Regional optics technology networks & IndustryRegional optics technology networks & Industry A European research partnership

Jeremy Allington-Smith AstroPhotonica Europa A European research partnership

Jeremy Allington-Smith AstroPhotonica Europa A European research partnership Further information Contact co-ordinator Contact

Jeremy Allington-Smith

Conclusions To understand the origins of the cosmos and of ourselves astronomers needs new technologyTo understand the origins of the cosmos and of ourselves astronomers needs new technology Exploitation of photonic principles and devices already developed will help us do thisExploitation of photonic principles and devices already developed will help us do this Without it, instrumentation for the next generation of telescopes may run into major problemsWithout it, instrumentation for the next generation of telescopes may run into major problems Find out more!Find out more!

Jeremy Allington-Smith The end