Application of Multicore Optical Fibers in Astronomy

TL;DR

Multicore optical fibers are increasingly used in astronomy to improve light transport efficiency and enable compact, multi-channel instruments for enhanced observational capabilities.

Contribution

This paper provides an overview of the applications and advantages of multicore fibers in astronomical observations, highlighting their potential to improve instrument performance.

Findings

Multicore fibers offer superior fill factor compared to other approaches.

They enable transport of light in many channels through a single fiber.

Applications include miniature integral field units for spectroscopy.

Abstract

Multicore fibers are gaining growing attention in astronomy. The two main attributes which make them attractive for astronomy are that they reduce the distance between cores and hence have a superior fill factor to other approaches and they offer the possibility to transport light in many channels with the overhead of only having to handle a single fiber. These properties are being exploited to realize miniature integral field units that can transport light from different regions in a focal plane to a spectrograph for example. Here we offer an overview of several applications where multicore fibers are now being considered and applied to astronomical observations to enhance scientific yield.