Seth Meeker (JPL)

Title --- DARKNESS: The First Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector Integral Field Spectrograph for Exoplanet Imaging

Abstract --- Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) are an emerging superconducting detector technology that have recently been demonstrated for UV, optical and near-IR astronomy. At these wavelengths MKIDs detect individual photons with time resolution of a few microseconds, and are capable of measuring individual photon energies to within a few percent. These characteristics make them especially exciting for high-contrast imaging by opening the door for real-time speckle control and post-processing speckle suppression at framerates capable of resolving atmospheric speckles. In this talk I will introduce the basic principles of MKIDs, and provide a brief history of their development including their first demonstration platform, known as ARCONS. I will then present early results from DARKNESS, the first of several planned integral field spectrographs to use MKIDs specifically for high-contrast imaging, which is now operational behind the PALM-3000 extreme adaptive optics system and the Stellar Double Coronagraph at Palomar Observatory.