An infrared integral field spectrograph specialized for speckle suppression and the direct detection of extrasolar planets

Quasi-static speckles are the main source of noise preventing the direct detection of exoplanets around bright stars. We are investigating the use of an infrared (1.5-2.4 μm) integral field spectrograph (IFS) specialised for speckle suppression and the detection of self-luminous giant planets. This paper presents the optical design and laboratory results obtained with a TIGER-type IFS prototype based on a microlens array. A similar IFS will be used for the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). Preliminary speckle-suppression performances of the IFS along with simulations are presented.© (2006) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.