Use of single-mode waveguides to correct the optical defects of a nulling interferometer

In the area of long-baseline nulling interferometry, high rejection ratios are needed to cancel out the light of a bright central source and look for nearby faint structures or companions, These rejection requirements directly translate into drastic optical constraints. We discuss the possibility of using single-mode waveguides for such applications. Conversely to simple pinholes, single-mode waveguides efficiently correct wave-front defects of both high- and low-order spatial frequencies, ensure a perfect matching of the amplitude profiles coming from the various beams, and can be used with almost optimum coupling efficiency over a broad optical bandpass (typically an octave). They then appear to greatly enhance the feasibility of high-dynamic interferometric coronagraphs. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.