ESA-Funded Project Advances Liquid-Crystal Vortex Coronagraph Technology for Exoplanet Detection
Scientists working on the ESA-funded SUPPPPRESS project have developed and tested liquid-crystal vector vortex coronagraphs (VVCs) that achieve contrast levels approaching the threshold needed to image Earth-like exoplanets. The work addresses a key limitation of such coronagraphs — polarization leakage — through multi-layer twisted retarders and polarization grating combinations. The results represent a significant step toward the instrumentation required for NASA's planned Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO).
The SUPPPPRESS project, funded by the European Space Agency, has made measurable progress in fabricating and testing vector vortex coronagraphs (VVCs) built from liquid-crystal polymers — a leading technology candidate for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). Detecting Earth-like planets requires suppressing host-star light to a contrast ratio of 10⁻¹⁰, a level severely hampered by polarization leakage arising from wavelength-dependent imperfections in the optical elements. The team addressed this through two complementary strategies: engineering multi-layer twisted retarders to minimize intrinsic leakage, and combining VVCs with multiple polarization gratings (mgVVC) to redirect residual leakage away from the science detector. Fabricated components achieved polarization leakage of 3×10⁻⁴ over a 10% bandwidth and 8×10⁻⁴ over a 20% bandwidth, with central singularities of 2 and 6 micrometers for charge-2 and charge-6 designs respectively. High-contrast testing at the THD2 optical bench showed a double-grating VVC reaching an average contrast of 2×10⁻⁸ over a narrow bandwidth and 6×10⁻⁸ over a 10% bandwidth in the 3–10 λ/D working zone. The components also successfully passed space-environment qualification tests, an important milestone for eventual deployment. The paper has been accepted for publication in the JATIS Habitable Worlds Observatory special edition.
What's missing
The study does not outline the projected timeline or additional technological steps needed to close the gap between demonstrated contrast levels and the 10⁻¹⁰ requirement for HWO, nor does it address how performance scales to the full aperture and wavelength range anticipated for HWO.
What different sources said
- arXiv astro-phCenter
SUPPPPRESS: Prototyping and testing liquid-crystal vector vortex coronagraphs with reduced polarization leakage
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