Creating a Monolithic, Low Insertion Loss, Photonic Chip for the First Instrument

The lure of photonics is undeniable. By replacing bulk optical components, fibre optics and fibre optic bundles, with monolithic photonic chips; astronomers are reducing environmental noise and increasing sensitivity in their interferometric measurements. Future photonic chips will be more complex and more compact and are the future for both ground-based and space-bound telescopes.