Interferometric Beam Combination with a Triangular Tricoupler Photonic Chip

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel three-dimensional triangular tricoupler integrated optics chip for interferometric beam combination, offering high throughput, simple design, and real-time complex visibility measurement for astrophysical interferometers.

Contribution

The development and characterization of a 3D triangular tricoupler chip that simplifies beam combination and enhances throughput for astrophysical interferometry.

Findings

Achieved 85±7% throughput in the tricoupler.

Demonstrated flux splitting ratios between 33:33:33 and 52:31:17 over 20% bandpass.

Successfully measured complex visibility and group delay instantaneously.

Abstract

Beam combiners are important components of an optical/infrared astrophysical interferometer, with many variants as to how to optimally combine two or more beams of light to fringe-track and obtain the complex fringe visibility. One such method is the use of an integrated optics chip that can instantaneously provide the measurement of the visibility without temporal or spatial modulation of the optical path. Current asymmetric planar designs are complex, resulting in a throughput penalty, and so here we present developments into a three dimensional triangular tricoupler that can provide the required interferometric information with a simple design and only three outputs. Such a beam combiner is planned to be integrated into the upcoming $\textit{Pyxis}$ interferometer, where it can serve as a high-throughput beam combiner with a low size footprint. Results into the characterisation of such a coupler are presented, highlighting a throughput of 85$\pm$7% and a flux splitting ratio between 33:33:33 and 52:31:17 over a 20% bandpass. We also show the response of the chip to changes in optical path, obtaining an instantaneous complex visibility and group delay estimate at each input delay.