TY - JOUR
T1 - Focal-plane wavefront sensing with photonic lanterns
T2 - theoretical framework
AU - Lin, Jonathan
AU - Fitzgerald, Michael P.
AU - Xin, Yinzi
AU - Guyon, Olivier
AU - Leon-Saval, Sergio
AU - Norris, Barnaby
AU - Jovanovic, Nemanja
N1 - Funding Information:
National Science Foundation (2109232, DGE-2034835)
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Optica Publishing Group.
PY - 2022/10/1
Y1 - 2022/10/1
N2 - The photonic lantern (PL) is a tapered waveguide that can efficiently couple light into multiple single-mode optical fibers. Such devices are currently being considered for a number of tasks, including the coupling of telescopes and high-resolution, fiber-fed spectrometers, coherent detection, nulling interferometry, and vortex-fiber nulling. In conjunction with these use cases, PLs can simultaneously perform low-order focal-plane wavefront sensing. In this work, we provide a mathematical framework for the analysis of a PL wavefront sensor (PLWFS), deriving linear and higher-order reconstruction models as well as metrics through which sensing performance-in both the linear and nonlinear regimes-can be quantified. This framework can be extended to account for additional optics such as beam-shaping optics and vortex masks, and can be generalized for other wavefront sensing architectures. Finally, we provide initial numerical verification of our mathematical models by simulating a six-port PLWFS. In a forthcoming companion paper (Lin and Fitzgerald), we provide a more comprehensive numerical characterization of few-port PLWFSs, and consider how the sensing properties of these devices can be controlled and optimized.
AB - The photonic lantern (PL) is a tapered waveguide that can efficiently couple light into multiple single-mode optical fibers. Such devices are currently being considered for a number of tasks, including the coupling of telescopes and high-resolution, fiber-fed spectrometers, coherent detection, nulling interferometry, and vortex-fiber nulling. In conjunction with these use cases, PLs can simultaneously perform low-order focal-plane wavefront sensing. In this work, we provide a mathematical framework for the analysis of a PL wavefront sensor (PLWFS), deriving linear and higher-order reconstruction models as well as metrics through which sensing performance-in both the linear and nonlinear regimes-can be quantified. This framework can be extended to account for additional optics such as beam-shaping optics and vortex masks, and can be generalized for other wavefront sensing architectures. Finally, we provide initial numerical verification of our mathematical models by simulating a six-port PLWFS. In a forthcoming companion paper (Lin and Fitzgerald), we provide a more comprehensive numerical characterization of few-port PLWFSs, and consider how the sensing properties of these devices can be controlled and optimized.
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U2 - 10.1364/JOSAB.466227
DO - 10.1364/JOSAB.466227
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85140906168
VL - 39
SP - 2643
EP - 2656
JO - Journal of the Optical Society of America B: Optical Physics
JF - Journal of the Optical Society of America B: Optical Physics
SN - 0740-3224
IS - 10
ER -