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The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) is a series of upgrades forthe Keck II Adaptive Optics (AO) system and the NIRSPEC spectrograph to enablediffraction-limited, high-resolution ($R>30,000$) spectroscopy of exoplanetsand low-mass companions in the K and L bands. Phase I consisted of single-modefiber injection/extraction units (FIU/FEU) used in conjunction with an H-bandpyramid wavefront sensor. Phase II, deployed and commissioned in 2022, adds a1000-actuator deformable mirror, beam-shaping optics, a vortex coronagraph, andother upgrades to the FIU/FEU. The use of single-mode fibers provides a gain instellar rejection, a substantial reduction in sky background, and an extremelystable line-spread function on the spectrograph.  In this paper we present the results of extensive system-level laboratorytesting and characterization showing the instrument's Phase II throughput,stability, repeatability, and other key performance metrics prior to deliveryand during installation at Keck. We also demonstrate the capabilities of thevarious observing modes enabled by the new system modules using internal testlight sources. Finally, we show preliminary results of on-sky tests performedin the first few months of Phase II commissioning along with the next steps forthe instrument.  Once commissioning of Phase II is complete, KPIC will continue tocharacterize exoplanets at an unprecedented spectral resolution, therebygrowing its already successful track record of 23 detected exoplanets and browndwarfs from Phase I. Using the new vortex fiber nulling (VFN) mode, Phase IIwill also be able to search for exoplanets at small angular separations lessthan 45 milliarcseconds which conventional coronagraphs cannot reach.

Phase II of the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer: system-level laboratory characterization and preliminary on-sky commissioning