  We have built a series of notch filter image masks that make the Lyot
coronagraph less susceptible to low-spatial-frequency optical aberrations. In
this paper, we present experimental results of their performance in the lab
using monochromatic light. Our tests show that these ``eighth-order'' masks are
resistant to tilt and focus alignment errors, and can generate contrast levels
of 2 x 10^-6 at 3 lambda/D and 6 x 10^-7 at 10 lambda/D without the use of
corrective optics such as deformable mirrors. This work supports recent
theoretical studies suggesting that eighth-order masks can provide the
Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph with a large search area, high off-axis
throughput, and a practical requisite pointing accuracy.
