Ultrafast laser inscribed waveguides for mid-infrared interferometry: Experimental study of suitable host materials

Direct detection of exoplanets using stellar interferometry is a major goal for astrophysics in the next decade. Planets are cool objects whose black-body radiation predominantly sits in the mid-infrared (2.0 12.0 µm). Furthermore, the most promising wavelength for ing interferometry is in the astronomical L' band (3.5 4.1 µm) because, when compared to the infrared, the contrast between the bright host start and the faint planets becomes more favourable by several orders of magnitude.