We discuss the preliminary results of a survey of young ( < 300 Myr ) , close ( < 50 pc ) stars with the Simultaneous Differential Extrasolar Planet Imager ( SDI ) implemented at the VLT and the MMT .
SDI uses a double Wollaston prism and a quad filter to take 4 identical images simultaneously at 3 wavelengths surrounding the 1.62 \mu m methane bandhead found in the spectrum of cool brown dwarfs and gas giants .
By performing a difference of images in these filters , speckle noise from the primary can be significantly attenuated , resulting in photon noise limited data .
In our survey data , we achieved H band contrasts > 25000 ( 5 \sigma \Delta F1 ( 1.575 \mu m ) > 10 mag , \Delta H > 11.5 mag for a T6 spectral type ) at a separation of 0.5 ” from the primary star .
With this degree of attenuation , we should be able to image ( 5 \sigma detection ) a 2-4 Jupiter mass planet at 5 AU around a 30 Myr star at 10 pc .
We are currently completing our survey of young , nearby stars .
We have obtained complete datasets for 35 stars in the southern sky ( VLT ) and 7 stars in the northern sky ( MMT ) .
We believe that our SDI images are the highest contrast astronomical images ever made from ground or space for methane rich companions .