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arXiv · 2608.18912

Demonstration of a multimode-to-multimode photonic lantern for astronomy

Marina Centenera-Merino·Andrew Ross-Adams·Christopher Betters·Pedro J. Amado·Jesus Aceituno·Kalaga Madhav·Stefan Cikota·F. Javier Flores·Julius Göhring·Abani S. Nayak·Jose Luis Ortiz·David Peréz-Medialdea·Francisco J. Pozuelos·Martin M. Roth·Mabel Ruíz-López·Miguel Andrés Sánchez-Carrasco·Sergio Leon-Saval
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Abstract

Photonic lanterns have been widely used in astronomy as low-loss multiplexing devices, typically coupling light from a multimode input into several single-mode outputs. In this work, we present the first multimode-to-multimode photonic lantern specifically designed to combine light from several multimode fibers into a single multimode waveguide. We fabricated and characterized the devices at multiple wavelengths to evaluate the performance of the adiabatic multimode transition. The measured efficiencies exceed $90\ \%$, demonstrating low-loss multimode propagation and efficient modal transfer through the lantern structure. This architecture enables efficient multimode beam combination and represents a significant step toward scalable modular telescope concepts without requiring diffraction-limited injection.

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Marina Centenera-Merino, Andrew Ross-Adams, Christopher Betters, Pedro J. Amado, Jesus Aceituno, Kalaga Madhav, Stefan Cikota, F. Javier Flores, Julius Göhring, Abani S. Nayak, Jose Luis Ortiz, David Peréz-Medialdea, Francisco J. Pozuelos, Martin M. Roth, Mabel Ruíz-López, Miguel Andrés Sánchez-Carrasco, Sergio Leon-Saval. 2026-08-19. Demonstration of a multimode-to-multimode photonic lantern for astronomy. https://doi.org/10.1364/ol.609358

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