Green astro-comb for exoplanet searches: improved hardware and operation

Searches for extrasolar planets using the precision stellar radial velocity (RV) measurement technique are approaching Earth-like planet sensitivity. Astro-combs, which consist of a laser frequency comb, coherent wavelength shifting mechanism (such as a doubling crystal and photonic crystal fiber), and a mode-filtering Fabry-Perot cavity (FPC), provide a promising route to increased accuracy and long-term stability on the astrophysical spectrograph calibration. We present the design of a green astro-comb from an octave spanning Ti:Sapphire laser, spectrally broadened by custom tapered PCF to the visible band via fiber-optic Cherenkov radiation for frequency shifting, and filtered by a broadband FPC, constructed by a pair of complementary chirped mirrors. Performance of this astro-comb and enhancements for improved operation at the HARPS-N spectrograph will be presented.