  In this communication we present the first experimental results obtained on
the Crossed-cubes nuller (CCN), that is a new type of Achromatic phase shifter
(APS) based on a pair of crossed beamsplitter cubes. We review the general
principle of the CCN, now restricted to two interferometric outputs for
achieving better performance, and describe the experimental apparatus developed
in our laboratory. It is cheap, compact, and easy to align. The results
demonstrate a high extinction rate in monochromatic light and confirm that the
device is insensitive to its polarization state. Finally, the first lessons
from the experiment are summarized and discussed in view of future space
missions searching for extra-solar planets located in the habitable zone,
either based on a coronagraphic telescope or a sparse-aperture nulling
interferometer
