Skip to main content
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope. It will find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Above: The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope. It will find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy.

JWST Occulters

MDL Flight Occulters Enable Detection and Characterization of Orbiting Exoplanets

MDL completed fabrication of five flight-occulting masks for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) coronagraph. These flight occulters enable detection and characterization of orbiting exoplanets. The occulters are binary half-tone patterns composed of near-wavelength-size holes and islands of thick aluminum, patterned by electron-beam lithography followed by plasma etching. The half-tone patterns realize carefully designed Airy function apodizing masks that block the 2- to 5-µm wavelength starlight focused onto the occulter. The remaining light that passes through the NIRCam coronagraph is reimaged to enable detection and characterization of orbiting exoplanets.

To learn more about JWST, please visit: http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/
Occulting mask for the JWST NiRCam, including high-magnification images that show the half-tone nature of the occulting spots.
Occulting mask for the JWST NiRCam, including high-magnification images that show the half-tone nature of the occulting spots.
+ Larger image
Back to top