The limitations of current stellar interferometers is their low sensitivity, and the next generation will account for this by using larger apertures. The phase aberrations from seeing will need the consideration of adaptive optics (AO). Accordingly, this dissertation will first examine the problem that seeing causes in stellar interferometers. The application of Adaptive Optics in Stellar Interferometry will then consider these results to achieve the final goal: reduced losses in fringe visibility and increased sensitivity. The thesis is organised with the second chapter discussing the theory of seeing phase aberrations; their origin and effect on image resolution and fringe visibility. These are used to quantify and compare performance metrics in AO and interferometry, and the specific benefits of AO for interferometry and its method of implementation are used to highlight areas of research that are discussed in other chapters. The third chapter discusses a solution to the problem of making high sensitivity wavefront measurements is presented in this chapter. Starting with existing WFSs used in interferometer AO systems, the methods of measuring high order aberrations are considered. A new WFS method, Diffractive Phase Sensing, is presented and an implementation is described in the context of a specific WFS design: the Nine Element Sensor (NES). The fourth chapter concerns numerical simulations of the NES to evaluate its performance in an AO system. Comparisons are made with two existing WFS designs, one commonly used in astronomical AO and the other in use within current interferometer AO. The conclusions drawn specify the observation regimes for which each of the three WFS designs is most appropriate. The design and construction of a NES prototype is discussed in the fifth chapter. The prototype WFS is first tested in the laboratory, and its novel optic and CCD detector operation were analysed prior to use. The prototype was then used to make measurements of defocus phase aberrations at COAST, and results from these observations are presented and discussed to understand their implication. The final chapter considers the existing AO system at COAST—the autoguider—and its measurements of tip/tilt aberrations. The aim and method used to parameterise the atmospheric turbulence is detailed, and the results are verified with measurements from a DIMM and with fringe visibilities. Using the autoguider, the statistics of the seeing at the COAST site is presented from a year long dataset.

NASA has funded a project called the Hunt for Observable Signatures of Terrestrial Systems (HOSTS) to survey nearby solar type stars to determine the amount of warm zodiacal dust in their habitable zones. The goal is not only to determine the luminosity distribution function but also to know which individual stars have the least amount of zodiacal dust. It is important to have this information for future missions that directly image exoplanets as this dust is the main source of astrophysical noise for them. The HOSTS project utilizes the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI), which consists of two 8.4-m apertures separated by a 14.4-m baseline on Mt. Graham, Arizona. The LBTI operates in a nulling mode in the mid-infrared spectral window (8-13 mu m), in which light from the two telescopes is coherently combined with a 180 degree phase shift between them, producing a dark fringe at the location of the target star. In doing so the starlight is greatly reduced, increasing the contrast, analogous to a coronagraph operating at shorter wavelengths. The LBTI is a unique instrument, having only three warm reflections before the starlight reaches cold mirrors, giving it the best photometric sensitivity of any interferometer operating in the mid-infrared. It also has a superb Adaptive Optics (AO) system giving it Strehl ratios greater than 98% at 10 mu m. In 2014 into early 2015 LBTI was undergoing commissioning. The HOSTS project team passed its Operational Readiness Review (ORR) in April 2015. The team recently published papers on the target sample, modeling of the nulled disk images, and initial results such as the detection of warm dust around eta Corvi. Recently a paper was published on the data pipeline and on-sky performance. An additional paper is in preparation on beta Leo. We will discuss the scientific and programmatic context for the LBTI project, and we will report recent progress, new results, and plans for the science verification phase that started in February 2016, and for the survey.

L'observation d'exoplanètes et plus généralement de l'environnement proche de jeunes étoiles représente une double difficulté observationnelle : la faible séparation angulaire entre l'étoile et la planète (ou son environnement tel qu'un disque protoplanétaire) et le contraste de flux. L'une des techniques permettant de surmonter ces difficultés est l'interférométrie en frange noire. Deux télescopes pointent un système étoile planète/disque et les pupilles sont recombinées de telle manière que les photons issus de l'étoile interfèrent destructivement alors que ceux issus de la planète/disque interfèrent constructivement. Les contraintes instrumentales sont très fortes pour garantir une extinction suffisante de l'étoile, tant en terme de différence de marche optique (de l'ordre du nanomètre) que d'équilibre photométrique (4% minimum pour obtenir un taux d'extinction de 40dB). La bande L (3.4 - 4.1μm) est adaptée à l'observation de matière froide, car le rapport de flux entre la planète (ou poussière stellaire) et son étoile présente un minimum de l'ordre de 10−4 après 3μm, ce qui rend la bande L particulièrement attractive pour ce genre d'observations. Parce que les silicates et le verre ne permettent pas de construire des guides atteignant la bande L, il n'existe pas aujourd'hui d'instrument mature fonctionnant dans cette bande en optique intégrée. En effet, les contraintes instrumentales concernant l'interférométrie annulante peuvent être relaxées en utilisant un interféromètre intégré monomode, grâce au filtrage modal. Un instrument interférométrique intégré en bande L serait donc le bienvenu, mais cela nécessite un effort technologique de développement pour mettre au point une méthode de production de guides monomodes en bande L ainsi que de recombineurs intégrés. Mon travail de thèse a consisté à développer de tels guides d'onde ainsi que des recombineurs permettant d'obtenir un taux d'extinction de 10−4 sur la bande L. Le matériau choisi est le Niobate de Lithium (LiNbO3) dont la transparence en infrarouge moyen en fait un parfait candidat. Nous avons utilisé deux méthodes pour fabriquer les guides : l'échange protonique et la diffusion de Titane. Cette dernière méthode permet de guider les deux polarisations T E et T M . Comme le Niobate de Lithium est électro-optique, nous avons aussi travaillé à piloter le retard de phase entre les voies interférométriques de manière intégrée, sans pièce mécanique mobile, en appliquant un champ électrique au niveau du guide via des électrodes "on chip". L'effet électro-optique nous permet non seulement de faire varier la différence de marche entre les voies mais aussi de régler l'équilibre photométrique, ouvrant la voie à la réalisation d'un interféromètre intégré complet, léger, compact et robuste. J'ai donc cherché à caractériser et optimiser l'efficacité électro-optique du système afin d'obtenir une tension de commande inférieure à 15V. Le résultat est un interféromètre de type Y présentant deux Mach-Zehnders en entrée pour le réglage des photométries et offrant un taux d'extinction de 33dB en lumière monochromatique à 3.39μm. Le pilotage électro-optique étant très rapide (> MHz), il devient alors possible de compenser les perturbations de phase induites par l'atmosphère (1kHz) en temps réel. Nous avons ainsi travaillé à construire un démonstrateur qui permet de compenser des retards de phases de l'ordre du kHz sans pièce mobile, garantissant, à 3.39μm, une différence de marche de l'ordre de 3nm. Nous avons aussi réalisé des coupleurs directionnels dont le taux de couplage peut être modulé via une tension de commande. L'application directe de cette technologie est un composant interférométrique 2TABCD ou 3TAC dont les défauts (déséquilibre des coupleurs) peuvent être corrigés par calibration. / The observation of exoplanets and more generally of the close environment of young stars represents an observational double difficulty : the small angular separation between the star and the planet (or its environment such as a protoplanetary disk) and contrast flux. One technique to overcome these difficulties is the nulling interferometry. Two telescopes target a star planet/disk system and the pupils are recombined in such a way that the photons from the star cause destructive interference while those from the planet/disk cause constructive interference. Instrumental constraints are very strong to ensure sufficient extinction of the star, both in terms of optical path difference (of the order of nanometers) than photometric balance (4% for a minimum extinction ratio 40dB). L-band (3.4-4.1μm) is adapted to the observation of cold matter, because the flux ratio between the planet (or star dust) and the star presents a minimum of 10−4 order after 3μm, making the L-band particularly attractive for such observations. Because silicates and glass are not suitable to build guides reaching the L-band, there is currently no mature instrument in this band in integrated optics. Indeed, instrumental constraints on nulling interferometry can be relaxed by using a single-mode interferometer integrated, thanks to modal filtering. An interferometric instrument integrated L-band would be more than welcome, but needs a technology development effort to develop a method of producing L-band single-mode guides as well as integrated beam combiners. My PhD work was to develop such single mode waveguides as well as beam combiners in order to ob- tain an extinction ratio of 10−4 in the L-band. The selected material is lithium niobate (LiNbO3), the mid-infrared transparency makes it a perfect candidate. We used two methods to make the guides : proton exchange and Titanium diffusion. This latter allows to guide both TE and TM polarizations. As Lithium Niobate is electro-optic, we also worked to internally control the phase delay between channels without mobile mechanical part, applying an electric field at the guide via electrodes "on chip". The electro-optical effect allows us to not only vary the optical path delay between channels but also to settle the photometric balance, paving the way towards the realization of an integrated complete interferometer, lightweight, compact and robust. I therefore sought to characterize and optimize the electro-optical efficiency of the system to obtain a command voltage lower than 15V. The result is a "Y" interferometer presenting two Mach-Zehnders as input for photometric adjustment and offering an extinction ratio of 33dB in monochromatic light (3.39μm). Because the electro-optical drive is very fast (> MHz), it becomes possible to compensate for the phase perturbations induced by the atmosphere (1kHz) in real time. We have worked to build a demonstrator which compensates phase delays of the order of kHz without mechanical mobile part and which guarantees, at 3.39μm, an optical path delay around 3nm. We also realized directional couplers whose coupling ratio can be adjusted via a control voltage. The direct application of this technology is an interferometric component 2TABCD or 3TAC whose defects (unbalanced couplers) can be electrically corrected by calibration.

La technique de l'interférométrie en astronomie permet d'observer des objets avec une haute résolution angulaire comparativement à l'utilisation d'un unique télescope. L'observation dans l'infrarouge moyen représente aujourd'hui un enjeu en interférométrie notamment pour l'étude des noyaux actifs de galaxie ou de la formation des planètes. Cependant ce domaine spectral est particulièrement contraignant puisqu'il est soumis à l'émission propre des éléments optiques de l'instrument mais également de l'atmosphère. Ce manuscrit développe les travaux effectués sur un nouvel instrument utilisant un processus de conversion de fréquence pour transposer le rayonnement infrarouge vers un domaine spectral permettant de s'affranchir de l'émission propres des optiques. Un prototype fonctionnant dans le proche infrarouge à 1,55 µm et convertissant, via une processus de somme de fréquences, le rayonnement dans le domaine visible autour de 630 nm grâce à une pompe intense à 1064 nm, a été mis en place pour démontrer, en laboratoire, le principe de cette solution innovante notamment dans le cadre de l'analyse de la cohérence spatiale d'un corps noir. L'objectif est maintenant de démontrer la capacité de l'instrument à détecter un objet réel. J'introduis dans cette thèse les notions théoriques essentielles à la compréhension des travaux présentés pour ensuite détailler le fonctionnement de l'instrument et les éléments d'amélioration apportés, notamment en terme de transmission, au cours de ma thèse. Les études préliminaires en laboratoire du comportement de l'instrument ont permis d'aboutir aux premières franges sur le ciel en utilisant la plus petite base (34 m) du réseau interférométrique CHARA et de rechercher la magnitude limite de l'instrument. L'utilisation du processus de conversion de fréquence a pour conséquence de filtrer le spectre converti. Ainsi dans la configuration actuelle de l'interféromètre, seul 0,6 nm du spectre infrarouge en entrée du cristal est converti à travers le processus de SFG. Afin d'augmenter la sensibilité, une solution est de créer plusieurs processus de SFG simultanément dans chaque étage de conversion afin d'échantillonner le spectre infrarouge converti. Cette solution requiert d'utiliser plusieurs sources de pompe indépendantes qui vont créer des systèmes de franges incohérents. Je présente l'analyse de la cohérence temporelle d'une source infrarouge large bande convertie via l'utilisation de deux sources de pompe et un moyen de synchroniser les différents systèmes de franges afin de maximiser le contraste. / Interferometry is an instrumental technique suitable to perform astronomical observations at high angular resolution. Currently, the mid-infrared spectral domain is a real issue for the astronomical interferometry to characterize astronomical objects such as proto-planetary discs or active galactic nuclei. However, this spectral domain is subject to a large thermal background emission from the instrument and from the sky. This manuscript describes an innovative instrument using a nonlinear process of sum frequency generation to convert the mid-infrared radiation to a shorter wavelength domain where the thermal emission from the instrument is negligible. A prototype operating in the near-infrared at 1.55 µm and converting the radiation in the visible domain at 630 nm thanks to a strong pump at 1064 nm has already demonstrated its ability to analyse spatial coherence of a blackbody source. The present goal is to demonstrate its ability to detect an object on the sky. In this manuscript I introduce theoritical concepts necessary for an understanding of the overall operation of the instrument. Then, I describe the main improvements provided in this thesis, in particular concerning the instrumental transmission. The preliminary studies of the instrument operation resulted in the first on-sky fringes on the CHARA array and enabled to determine its limiting magnitude. The upconversion process acts as a filter on the converted spectrum. In the current instrumental configuration, only 0.6 nm of the input infrared spectrum is converted through the SFG process. For the purpose of increasing the instrumental sensitivity, we propose to sample the infrared spectrum by using several independent pump laser lines thus creating different incoherent fringe patterns. I present the temporal coherence analysis of a broadband infrared source converted by a dual-line pump laser and a method to synchronize the different fringe patterns to insure a maximum value of the contrast.

The existence of other habitable worlds and the possible development of life elsewhere in the Universe have been among mankinds fundamental questions for thousands of years. These interrogations about our origins and place in the Universe are today at the dawn of being answered in scientific terms. The key year was 1995 with the discovery of the first extrasolar planet orbiting around a solar-type star. About 400 extrasolar planets are known today and the possibility to identify habitable worlds and even life among them largely contributes to the growing interest about their nature and properties. However, characterizing planetary systems is a very difficult task due to both the huge contrast and the small angular separation between the host stars and their environment. New techniques have emerged during the past decades with the purpose of tackling these fantastic observational challenges. In that context, infrared interferometry is a very promising technique, since it provides the required angular resolution to separate the emission of the star from that of its environment. This dissertation is devoted to the characterization of extrasolar planetary systems using the high angular resolution and dynamic range capabilities of infrared interferometric techniques. The first part of the present work is devoted to the detection with current interferometric facilities of warm dust within the first few astronomical units of massive debris discs around nearby stars. In order to extend the imaging of planetary systems to fainter discs and to extrasolar planets, we investigate in a second step the performance of future space-based nulling interferometers and make a comparison with ground-based projects. Finally, the third part of this work is dedicated to the impact of exozodiacal discs on the performance of future life-searching space missions, the goal being to characterize extrasolar planets with sizes down to that of the Earth.