Astronomy

The vector Apodizing Phase Plate coronagraph (vAPP) surpresses starlight on both sides of a star using an achromatic pupil-plane coronagraph based on liquid-crystal technology. This enables an improved detection and characterization of exoplanets and their atmospheres.

The apodizing phase plate (APP) is a solid-state pupil optic that clears out a D-shaped area next to the core of the ensuing PSF. To make the APP more efficient for high-contrast imaging, its bandwidth should be as large as possible, and the location …