This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9603, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction (if any), and Conference Committee listing.

The cold glass-slumping technique is a low cost processing developed at INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera for the manufacturing of mirrors for Cherenkov telescopes. This technology is based on the shaping of thin glass foils by means of bending at room temperature. The glass foils are thus assembled into a sandwich structure for retaining the imposed shape by the use of a honeycomb core. The mirrors so manufactured employ commercial off-the-shelf materials thus allowing a competitive cost and production time. They show very low weight, rigidity and environmental robustness. In this contribution we give an overview on the most recent results achieved from the adoption of the cold-shaping technology to different projects of Cherenkov telescopes. We show the variety of optical shapes implemented ranging from those spherical with long radius of curvature up to the most curved free form ones.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory, with a combination of large-, medium-, and small-size telescopes (LST, MST and SST, respectively), will represent the next generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. It will explore the very high-energy domain from a few tens of GeV up to few hundreds of TeV with unprecedented sensitivity, angular resolution and imaging resolution.

In this framework, the Italian ASTRI program, led by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), is currently developing a scientific and technological SST dual-mirror end-to-end prototype named ASTRI SST-2M. It is a 4-meter class telescope; it adopts an aplanatic, wide-field, double-reflection optical layout in a Schwarzschild-Couder configuration. The ASTRI SST-2M telescope structure and mirrors have been already installed at the INAF observing station at Serra La Nave, on Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy).

In this contribution we report about the on-site deployment and the latest results on the opto-mechanical performance test conducted soon after the telescope installation

In 2014 the ASTRI Collaboration, led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, has constructed an end-to-end prototype of a dual-mirror imaging air Cherenkov telescope, proposed for the small size class of telescopes for the Cherenkov Telescope Array. The prototype, named ASTRI SST-2M, has been installed at the observing station located at Serra La Nave (Italy). In this project the Brera Astronomical Observatory was responsible for the production and the testing of the primary mirror. The ASTRI SST-2M telescope’s primary mirror has an aperture of ~ 4 m, a polynomial design, and consists of 18 individual hexagonal facets. These characteristics require the production and testing of panels with a typical size of ~1 m vertex-to-vertex and with an aspheric component of up to several millimetres. The mirror segments were produced assembling a sandwich of thin glass foils bent at room temperature to reach the desired shape. For the characterization of the mirrors we developed an ad-hoc deflectometry facility that works as an inverse Ronchi test in combination with a ray-tracing code. In this contribution we report the results of the deflectometric measurements performed on the primary mirror segments of the ASTRI SST-2M dual mirror telescope. The expected point spread function and the contributions to the degradation of the image quality are studied.

The construction of a prototype Schwarzschild-Couder telescope (pSCT) started in early June 2015 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Southern Arizona, as a candidate medium-sized telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Compared to current Davies-Cotton telescopes, this novel instrument with an aplanatic two-mirror optical system will offer a wider field-of-view and improved angular resolution. In addition, the reduced plate scale of the camera allows the use of highly-integrated photon detectors such as silicon photo multipliers. As part of CTA, this design has the potential to greatly improve the performance of the next generation ground-based observatory for very high-energy (E>60 GeV) gamma-ray astronomy. In this contribution we present the design and performance of both optical and alignment systems of the pSCT.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next generation ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy, covering an energy range from a few tens of GeV to a few hundred TeV. The CTA project is currently in the design and prototyping phase, the start of construction is planned for 2016. The planned sensitivity of CTA improves on current ground based Cherenkov telescope experiments by about an order of magnitude. In the core energy range this sensitivity will be dominated by up to 40 Medium-Sized Telescopes (MSTs). These telescopes, of a modified Davies-Cotton mount type with a reflector diameter of 12 m, are currently being prototyped. A full-size mechanical prototype has been operating in Berlin since 2012. Several types of prototype mirrors have been developed and tested, and are mounted on the telescope. CCD cameras with various lenses are mounted on the prototype for studying deformation of the structure, testing alignment techniques, and telescope pointing using astrometry methods. The report will focus on results of optical and structural measurements, commissioning and testing of the MST prototype in Berlin, as well as the final design.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a forthcoming international ground-based observatory for very high-energy gamma rays. Its goal is to reach sensitivity five to ten times better than existing Cherenkov telescopes such as VERITAS, H.E.S.S. or MAGIC and extend the range of observation to energies down to few tens of GeV and beyond 100 TeV. To achieve this goal, an array of about 100 telescopes is required, meaning a total reflective surface of several thousands of square meters. Thence, the optimal technology used for CTA mirrors' manufacture should be both low-cost (~1000 euros/m²) and allow high optical performances over the 300-550 nm wavelength range. More exactly, a reflectivity higher than 85% and a PSF (Point Spread Function) diameter smaller than 1 mrad. Surface roughness can significantly contribute to PSF broadening and limit telescope performances. Fortunately, manufacturing techniques for mirrors are now available to keep the optical scattering well below the geometrically-predictable effect of figure errors. This paper determines first order surface finish tolerances based on a surface microroughness characterization campaign, using Phase Shift Interferometry. That allows us to compute the roughness contribution to Cherenkov telescope PSF. This study is performed for diverse mirror candidates (MAGIC-I and II, ASTRI, MST) varying in manufacture technologies, selected coating materials and taking into account the degradation over time due to environmental hazards.

We present the status of the LAUE project devoted to develop a technology for building a 20 meter long focal length Laue lens for hard X-/soft gamma-ray astronomy (80-600 keV). The Laue lens is composed of bent crystals of Gallium Arsenide (GaAs, 220) and Germanium (Ge, 111), and, for the first time, the focusing property of bent crystals has been exploited for this field of applications. We show the preliminary results concerning the adhesive employed to fix the crystal tiles over the lens support, the positioning accuracy obtained and possible further improvements. The Laue lens petal that will be completed in a few months has a pass band of 80-300 keV and is a fraction of an entire Laue lens capable of focusing x-rays up to 600 keV, possibly extendable down to ~20-30 keV with suitable low absorption crystal materials and focal length. The final goal is to develop a focusing optics that can improve the sensitivity over current telescopes in this energy band by 2 orders of magnitude.

The Laue lens is a technology for gamma-ray astrophysics whereby gamma-rays of particular energies can be focused by a suitable arrangement of crystals. The Laue lens assembly station at UC Berkeley was used to build a technological demonstrator addressing the key issues of crystal mounting speed, crystal position and orientation accuracy, and crystal reflectivity. The new prototype is a lens segment containing a total of 48 5 x 5 mm2 crystals - 36 Iron and 12 Aluminium. The segment is composed of 8 partial rings, each of which is aligned to diffract an energy between 95 and 130 keV from a source at 12:5m with a focal length of 1:5 m.

Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) is an X-ray astrophysical observatory, developed by Russia in collaboration with Germany. The mission will be launched in beginning 2017 from Baikonur and placed in a 6-month-period halo orbit around L2. The scientific payload consists of two independent telescopes – a soft-x-ray survey instrument, eROSITA, being provided by Germany and a medium-x-ray-energy survey instrument ART-XC being developed by Russia. ART-XC will consist of seven independent, but co-aligned, telescope modules. The ART-XC flight mirror modules has been developed and fabricated at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Each mirror module will be aligned with a focal plane CdTe double-sided strip detector which will operate over the energy range of 6−30 keV, with an angular resolution of <1′, a field of view of ~34′ and an expected energy resolution of about 12% at 14 keV. The current status of the ART-XC/SRG instrument will be present.

The first application of four-times reflection X-ray optics is planned for the DIOS mission, in which very soft X-ray observation is expected. On the other hand, effective area of the telescope for higher X-ray energy (E < 10 keV) including iron K emission lines has been so far limited to about 1000 cm² for assumed several meter focal length. However, if we introduce four-reflection optics to this energy range, we can get several times large effective area for single telescope with same several meter focal length. To prove this possibility, we performed ray tracing simulation for four-reflection telescope with 6 m focal length and found that effective area of 3100 cm² at 6 keV can be obtained for single telescope. In this paper, we will discuss about other telescope performances, mechanical properties and application to fine spectroscopic mission using X-ray micro-calorimeter.

X-ray micro-calorimeters such as the Soft X-ray Spectrometer on board ASTRO-H will enable precise spectroscopy of iron K lines. To exploit the full power of the high-energy resolution, X-ray telescopes with a large effective area around 6 keV are essentially important. We designed a Wolter-I X-ray telescope with Ir/C multi- layer mirrors to enhance the effective area at around 6 keV by the principle of Bragg reflection. We assumed a diameter of 110 cm and a focal length of 110 cm for our telescope. Our simulation suggests that the effective area averaged in the 5.7{7.7 keV band could be 2000 cm².

The Geant4 based ray-tracer used to support the development of Silicon Pore Optics is being extended to take into account more subtle effects that affect the performance of the optics, like thermo-mechanical stresses and detailed surface metrology. Its performance has also been increased to make it possible to simulate rapidly and in detail the optics of Athena so that various possible configurations can be explored and characterized providing important feedback to the development and system teams. In this paper we report on the state of the development.

Stray light in X-ray telescopes are a well-known issue. Unlike rays focused via a double reflection by usual grazing-incidence geometries such as the Wolter-I, stray rays coming from off-axis sources are reflected only once by either the parabolic or the hyperbolic segment. Although not focused, stray light may represent a major source of background and ghost images especially when observing a field of faint sources in the vicinities of another, more intense, just outside the field of view of the telescope. The stray light problem is faced by mounting a pre-collimator in front of the mirror module, in order to shade a part of the reflective surfaces that may give rise to singly-reflected rays. Studying the expected stray light impact, and consequently designing a pre-collimator, is a typical ray-tracing problem, usually time and computation consuming, especially if we consider that rays propagate throughout a densely nested structure. This in turn requires one to pay attention to all the possible obstructions, increasing the complexity of the simulation. In contrast, approaching the problems of stray light calculation from an analytical viewpoint largely simplifies the problem, and may also ease the task of designing an effective pre-collimator. In this work we expose an analytical formalism that can be used to compute the stray light in a nested optical module in a fast and effective way, accounting for obstruction effects.

The half energy width (HEW) is the all powerful performance parameter used to characterize and compare X-ray optics. Values of HEW are always reported without an error bar or confidence interval, suggesting that the statistical error associated with such estimates are negligible. Is this true? And if it is, could one characterize the optics more quickly accepting a non-negligible but still acceptable statistical error in the estimate of the HEW? We try to answer these questions with the use of non-parametric statistical methods and X-ray pencile beam data. .

The Advanced Telescope for High ENergy Astrophysics (Athena) was selected in 2014 as the second large class mission (L2) of the ESA Cosmic Vision Science Programme within the Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration. The mission development is proceeding via the implementation of the system studies and in parallel a comprehensive series of technology preparation activities. [1-3]. The core enabling technology for the high performance mirror is the Silicon Pore Optics (SPO), a modular X-ray optics technology, which utilises processes and equipment developed for the semiconductor industry [4-31]. This paper provides an overview of the programmatic background, the status of SPO technology and give an outline of the development roadmap and activities undertaken and planned by ESA.

The ATHENA mission, a European large (L) class X-ray observatory to be launched in 2028, will essentially consist of an X-ray lens and two focal plane instruments. The lens, based on a Wolter-I type double reflection grazing incidence angle design, will be very large (~ 3 m in diameter) to meet the science requirements of large effective area (1-2 m² at a few keV) at a focal length of 12 m. To meet the high angular resolution (5 arc seconds) requirement the X-ray lens will also need to be very accurate. Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) technology has been invented to enable building such a lens and thus enabling the ATHENA mission. We will report in this paper on the latest status of the development, including details of X-ray test campaigns.

Athena (Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics) is an x-ray observatory using a Silicon Pore Optics telescope and was selected as ESA’s second L-class science mission for a launch in 2028. The x-ray telescope consists of several hundreds of mirror modules distributed over about 15-20 radial rings. The radius of curvature and the module sizes vary among the different radial positions of the rings resulting in different technical challenges for mirror modules for inner and outer radii.

We present first results of demonstrating Silicon Pore Optics for the extreme radial positions of the Athena telescope. For the inner most radii (0.25 m) a new mirror plate design is shown which overcomes the challenges of larger curvatures, higher stress values and bigger plates. Preliminary designs for the mounting system and its mechanical properties are discussed for mirror modules covering all other radial positions up to the most outer radius of the Athena telescope.

As part of the ongoing effort to optimize the throughput of the Athena optics we have produced mirrors with a state-of-the-art cleaning process. We report on the studies related to the importance of the photolithographic process. Pre-coating characterization of the mirrors has shown and still shows photoresist remnants on the SiO₂- rib bonding zones, which influences the quality of the metallic coating and ultimately the mirror performance. The size of the photoresist remnants is on the order of 10 nm which is about half the thickness of final metallic coating. An improved photoresist process has been developed including cleaning with O₂ plasma in order to remove the remaining photoresist remnants prior to coating. Surface roughness results indicate that the SiO₂-rib bonding zones are as clean as before the photolithography process is performed.

The Athena mission was selected for the second large-class mission, due for launch in 2028, in ESA’s Cosmic Vision program. The current solution for the optics is based on the Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) technology with the goal of 2m² effective area at 1keV (aperture about 3m diameter) with a focal length of 12m. The SPO advantages are the compactness along the axial direction and the high conductivity of the Silicon. Recent development in the fabrication of mirror shells based on the Slumped Glass Optics (SGO) makes this technology an attractive solution for the mirror modules for Athena or similar telescopes. The SGO advantages are a potential high collecting area with a limited vignetting due to the lower shadowing and the aptitude to curve the glass plates up to small radius of curvature. This study shows an alternative mirror design based on SGO technology, tailored for Athena needs. The main challenges are the optimization of the manufacturing technology with respect to the required accuracy and the thermal control of the large surface in conjunction with the low conductivity of the glass. A concept has been elaborated which considers the specific benefits of the SGO technology and provides an efficient thermal control. The output of the study is a preliminary design substantiated by analyses and technological studies. The study proposes interfaces and predicts performances and budgets. It describes also how such a mirror system could be implemented as a modular assembly for X-ray telescope with a large collecting area.

Slumped Glass Optics is a viable solution to build future X-ray telescopes. In our laboratories we use a direct hot slumping approach assisted by pressure, in which the glass optical surface is in contact with the mould, and a pressure is applied to enforce the replication of the mould shape on the glass optical surface. Several prototypes have been already produced and tested in X-rays, showing a continuous improvement in our technology. In this paper, we present the advances in our technology, in terms of slumped glass foils quality and expected performances upon an ideal integration. By using Eagle XG glass foils and Zerodur K20 for the slumping mould, we have fine tuned several process parameters: we present a critical analysis correlating the changes in the process to the improvements in different spatial frequency ranges encompassing the profile and roughness measurements. The use of a re-polished K20 mould, together with the optimized process parameters, lead to the latest result of glass foils with expected performance of less than 3 arcsec in single reflection at 1 keV X-ray energy. This work presents all the relevant steps forward in the hot slumping technology assisted by pressure, aimed at reaching angular resolutions of 5 arcsec for the whole mirror assembly.

The Slumped Glass Optics technology, developed at INAF/OAB since a few years, is becoming a competitive solution for the realization of the future X-ray telescopes with a very large collecting area, as e.g. the proposed Athena, with more than 2 m² effective area at 1 keV and with a high angular resolution (5’’ HEW). The developed technique is based on modular elements, named X-ray Optical Units (XOUs), made of several layers of thin foils of glass, previously formed by direct hot slumping in cylindrical configuration, and then stacked in a Wolter-I configuration, through interfacing ribs. The achievable global angular resolution of the optics relies on the surface shape accuracy of the slumped foils, on the smoothness of the mirror surfaces and on the correct integration and co-alignment of the mirror segments achieved with a dedicated Integration Machine (IMA). In this paper we provide an update of the project development, reporting on the last results achieved. In particular, we will present the results obtained with full illumination X-ray tests for the last developed prototypes.

Five characteristics determine the utility of an x-ray optics technology for astronomy: (1) angular resolution, (2) field of view, (3) energy bandwidth, (4) mass per unit photon collecting area, and (5) production cost per unit photon collecting area. These five desired characteristics are always in conflict with each other. As a result, every past, current, and future x-ray telescope represents an astronomically useful compromise of these five characteristics. In this paper, we outline and report the proof of concept of a new approach of using single-crystal silicon to make lightweight x-ray optics. This approach combines the grinding polishing process, which is capable of making diffraction-limited optics of any kind, with the stress-free nature of single-crystal silicon, which enables post-fabrication light-weighting without distortion. As such this technology has the potential of making diffraction-limited lightweight x-ray optics for future astronomical missions, achieving unprecedented performance without incurring prohibitive mass and cost increase.

The successful NuSTAR telescope was fabricated with thin glass mirrors formed into conic shapes by thermal slumping of thin glass sheets onto high precision mandrels. While mirrors generated by this process have very good figure, the best mirrors to date have a resolution limited to ~7 arc sec, due primarily to mid-range scale spatial frequency errors. These mid-range errors are believed to be due to clumping and particulates in the anti-stick coatings used to prevent sticking between mandrel and mirrors. We have developed a new slumping process which avoids sticking and surface-induced mid-range error by floating hot glass substrates between a pair of porous air bearing mandrels through which compressed nitrogen is forced. We report on the design and testing of an improved air bearing slumping tool and show results of short and long slumping cycles.

Future X-ray telescopes aim for large effective area within the given mass limits of the launcher. A promising method is the hot shaping of thin glass sheets via a thermal slumping process. This paper presents the status and progress of the indirect glass slumping technology developed at the Max-Planck-Institut for extraterrestrial Physics (MPE). Recent developments in our research include the use of the mould material Cesic under vacuum, as well as the fabrication of a high-precision slumping mould, which meets the requirements of large, high angular resolution missions like ATHENA. We describe the way forward to optimise the slumping process on these materials, the force-free integration concept and its progress, as well as the first test on reflective coating application.

The indirect hot slumping technology is being developed at Max-Planck-Institute for extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) for the manufacturing of lightweight astronomical X-ray telescopes. It consists of a thermal shaping process to replicate the figure of a suitable mould into segments of X-ray mirror shells made by glass. Several segments are aligned and mounted into elemental modules, a number of which is then assembled together to form the telescope. To obtain mirror segments of high optical quality, the realization of the slumping thermal cycle itself is of fundamental importance, but also the starting materials, primarily the mould and the glass foils, play a major role. This paper will review the MPE approach in the slumping technology development and will then concentrate on the glass, with particular regards to the problem of thickness variation.

High resolution imagery of the solar X-ray corona provides a crucial key to understand dynamics and heating processes of plasma particles there. However, X-ray imagery of the Sun with sub-arcsecond resolution has yet to be conducted due to severe technical difficulty in fabricating precision Wolter mirrors. For future X-ray observations of the Sun's corona, we are attempting to realize precision Wolter mirrors with sub-arcsecond resolution by adopting advanced surface polish and metrology methods based on nano-technology to sector mirrors which consist of a portion of an entire annulus. Following fabrication of the first engineering mirror and subsequent evaluation on the X-ray focusing performance in 2013, the second engineering mirror was made with improvements in both precision polish and metrology introduced. Measurement of focusing performance on the second mirror at SPring-8 synchrotron facility with 8 keV X-rays has demonstrated that the FWHM size of the PSF core reached down to 0.2" while its HPD (Half Power Diameter) size remained at ~3" due to the presence of small-angle scatter just outside of the core. Also, there was notable difference in the focal length between sagittal and meridional focusing which could have been caused by an error in the sag in the meridional direction of <10 nm in the mirror area. Further improvements to overcome these issues have been planned for the next engineering mirror.

The next generation of astrophysical missions will require fabrication technology capable of producing high angular resolution x-ray mirrors. A full-shell direct fabrication approach using modern robotic polishing machines has the potential for producing stiff and light-weight shells that can be heavily nested, to produce large collecting areas, and are easier to mount, align and assemble, giving improved angular resolution. This approach to mirror fabrication, is being pursued at MSFC. The current status of this direct fabrication technology is presented.

Monocrystalline silicon as an x-ray mirror substrate material promises significant improvements over the x- ray mirror technologies used to date, since it is mechanically stiff, stress-free, highly thermally conductive, and widely commercially available. Producing highly accurate and lightweight x-ray mirrors from monocrystalline silicon requires a unique and specialized manufacturing process capable of producing mirrors quickly and cost effectively. The identification, development, and testing of this process is the focus of the work described in this proceeding. Monocrystalline silicon blocks were obtained, and a variety of processes (wire electro-discharge machining, etching, polishing) were applied to generate an accurate and stress-free cylindrical or Wolter-I mirror surface. The mirror surface is then sliced off at a thickness of <1 mm and further processed to yield a mirror segment with <1 arcsecond RMS slope errors. Furthermore, our experiments suggest that this mirror production process requires ~2 days to produce a mirror segment and is easily integrated into a cost-reducing parallel processing scheme. Presently, there is strong evidence that the mirror production process described in this paper will meet the stringent requirements of future x-ray missions.

We are developing an X-ray mirror using the carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) as a substrate in order to improve the angular resolution of tightly-nested thin-foil Wolter-I X-ray mirrors. We found that curing of the epoxy used in the replication process at the room temperature is effective to suppress the print through. We were able to make mirrors whose shape accuracy is 3 - 5 μm. Characterization at the synchrotron facility SPring-8 using the X-ray pencil beam of 20 keV showed that the angular resolution was 3 - 5 arcmin as a whole, but can reach to 20 arcsec locally.

High-resolution, high throughput optics for x-ray astronomy entails fabrication of well-formed mirror segments and their integration with arc-second precision. In this paper, we address issues of aligning and bonding thin glass mirrors with negligible additional distortion. Stability of the bonded mirrors and the curing of epoxy used in bonding them were tested extensively. We present results from tests of bonding mirrors onto experimental modules, and on the stability of the bonded mirrors tested in x-ray. These results demonstrate the fundamental validity of the methods used in integrating mirrors into telescope module, and reveal the areas for further investigation. The alignment and integration methods are applicable to the astronomical mission concept such as STAR-X, the Survey and Time-domain Astronomical Research Explorer.

Recent advancements in thin glass materials allowed the development and the mass production of very thin glass foils, like e.g. the Willow glass (thickness of 0.1-0.2 mm) produced by Corning or AF32 produced by Schott (thickness down to 0.055 mm). The thickness, strength and flexibility of these glass foils allow bending them up to very small radius of curvature without breaks. This feature, together with the very low micro-roughness, makes this kind of materials ideal candidates for pursuing a cold replication approach for cost-effective and fast making of grazing incidence astronomical optics. Starting from the very thin flat glass sheets, the process under development foresees to bond them onto the supporting structure while they are wrapped around reference mandrels. The assembly concept, based on the use of Wolter-I counter-form moulds, is also based on the use of reinforcing ribs that connect pairs of consecutive foils in the final assembly. The ribs do not only play the role of mechanical connectors, they keep the shape and increase the structural stiffness. Indeed, the ribs constrain the foil profile to the correct shape during the bonding, damping the low-frequency residuals with respect to the Wolter I configuration. This approach is particularly interesting because of their low weight and cost. They could e.g be used for the production of high throughput optics as those needed for the Chines XTP mission, in which the requirements on the angular resolution are not too tight. In fact, a Half Energy Width in the range of 20-60 arcsec is compatible with the expected residual error due to the spring back of the glass sheets. In this paper we provide an overview of the project, the expected performances and present the first preliminary results.

For several years, the Max-Planck-Institute for extraterrestrial Physics in Germany (MPE) and the Astronomical Observatory of Brera in Italy (INAF-OAB) have been studying the slumping technology for the manufacturing of segmented glass X-ray optics for astronomy. Despite some differences in their specific approaches, the synergy of the two institutes has always been good, focusing on the common goal of developing a technology able to meet the outstanding requirements for future X-ray telescopes: i.e. large collecting areas, low mass and good angular resolution. This synergy has in the last year resulted in an active collaboration for the production of a Joint Integrated Module (JIM) that puts together the expertise of the two research groups. In particular, the indirect slumping approach of MPE has been employed for the manufacturing of X-ray mirror segments that have been integrated into a kind of X-ray Optical Unit following the approach developed at INAF-OAB. The module has then been tested in X-ray at the MPE PANTER facility, in Neuried. The several steps and the results of this joint activity are reviewed and discussed in this paper.

An ideal bonding agent for thin-shell x-ray mirrors could be quickly applied to joints and set with deterministic and stable properties. Unfortunately, mirror assembly methods have typically utilized various epoxy formulations which are messy, slow to apply and cure, and far from deterministic or stable. Problems include shrinkage, creep and high thermal and humidity sensitivity. Once the bond is set errors are frozen in and cannot be corrected. We are developing a new method for bonding thin-foil mirrors that has the potential to solve these problems. Our process to bond mirrors to housing reference points is achieved via small beads of a low-melting-point bonding agent (such as solder or thermoset). The mirror is bonded to small contact surface points under real-time metrology. If the position of the mirror needs to be adjusted after bonding, a small force is applied normal or parallel to the contact surface and a pulsed fiber laser is used to melt an ultrathin layer of the solder for a very short time. The joint is then compressed, stretched or sheared while molten before refreezing in a new position, enabling repeatable and stable mirror position adjustments along the direction of the force in nm-level steps with minimal heat input. We present results from our prototype apparatus demonstrating proof of principle. The initial experiment includes developing a technique to bond D263 glass to Kovar, designing and building a one-dimensional stage to precisely apply force, and using an infrared laser pulse to heat the joint while measuring position and force.

The alignment of thin-shell, segmented mirrors for Wolter-I telescopes frequently involves the use of a Hartmann test. In order to get optical throughput in the Hartmann test, the mirrors must first be coarsely aligned to one another and to the metrology system. In the past, the coarse alignment of these mirrors at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory has largely relied upon component machine tolerances and contact measurements with a coordinate measurement machine (CMM). This process takes time and does not produce reliable nor repeatable results. Thus, methods were developed to allow for the quick and reliable coarse alignment of thin- shell, segmented mirrors at their final locations in the mirror assembly. We present the coarse alignment system developed at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and its use in the alignment of thin-shell, segmented mirrors for the adjustable X-ray optics program.

High-resolution spectroscopy of astrophysical sources is the key to gaining a quantitative understanding of the history, dynamics, and current conditions of the cosmos. A large-area (> 1,000 cm²), high resolving power (R = λ/Δλ> 3000) soft x-ray grating spectrometer (XGS) that covers the lines of C, N, O, Ne and Fe ions is the ideal tool to address a number of high-priority science questions from the 2010 Decadal Survey, such as the connection between super-massive black holes and large-scale structure via cosmic feedback, the evolution of large- scale structure, the behavior of matter at high densities, and the conditions close to black holes. While no grating missions or instruments are currently approved, an XGS aboard a potential future X-ray Surveyor could easily surpass the above performance metrics. To improve the chances for future soft x-ray grating spectroscopy missions or instruments, grating technology has to progress and advance to higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). To that end we have developed Critical-Angle Transmission (CAT) gratings that combine the advantages of blazed reflection gratings (high efficiency, use of higher diffraction orders) with those of conventional transmission gratings (low mass, relaxed alignment tolerances and temperature requirements, high transparency at higher energies). A CAT grating-based spectrometer can provide performance 1-2 orders of magnitude better than current grating instruments on Chandra and Newton-XMM with minimal resource requirements. At present we have fabricated large-area freestanding CAT gratings with narrow integrated support structures from silicon-on- insulator wafers using advanced lithography and a combination of deep reactive-ion and wet etching. Our latest x-ray test results show record high absolute diffraction efficiencies in blazed orders in excess of 30% with room for improvement.

Off-plane reflection gratings offer the potential for high-resolution, high-throughput X-ray spectroscopy on future missions. Typically, the gratings are placed in the path of a converging beam from an X-ray telescope. In the off-plane reflection grating case, these gratings must be co-aligned such that their diffracted spectra overlap at the focal plane. Misalignments degrade spectral resolution and effective area. In-situ X-ray alignment of a pair of off-plane reflection gratings in the path of a silicon pore optics module has been performed at the MPE PANTER beamline in Germany. However, in-situ X-ray alignment may not be feasible when assembling all of the gratings required for a satellite mission. In that event, optical methods must be developed to achieve spectral alignment. We have developed an alignment approach utilizing a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor and diffraction of an ultraviolet laser. We are fabricating the necessary hardware, and will be taking a prototype grating module to an X-ray beamline for performance testing following assembly and alignment.

Future X-ray missions will require gratings with high throughput and high spectral resolution. Blazed off-plane reflection gratings are capable of meeting these demands. A blazed grating profile optimizes grating efficiency, providing higher throughput to one side of zero-order on the arc of diffraction. This paper presents efficiency measurements made in the 0.3 – 1.5 keV energy band at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) BESSY II facility for three holographically-ruled gratings, two of which are blazed. Each blazed grating was tested in both the Littrow configuration and anti-Littrow configuration in order to test the alignment sensitivity of these gratings with regard to throughput. This paper outlines the procedure of the grating experiment performed at BESSY II and discuss the resulting efficiency measurements across various energies. Experimental results are generally consistent with theory and demonstrate that the blaze does increase throughput to one side of zero-order. However, the total efficiency of the non-blazed, sinusoidal grating is greater than that of the blazed gratings, which suggests that the method of manufacturing these blazed profiles fails to produce facets with the desired level of precision. Finally, evidence of a successful blaze implementation from first diffraction results of prototype blazed gratings produce via a new fabrication technique at the University of Iowa are presented.

Off-plane X-ray diffraction gratings with precision groove profiles at the submicron scale will be used in next generation X-ray spectrometers. Such gratings will be used on a current NASA suborbital rocket mission, the Off-plane Grating Rocket Experiment (OGRE), and have application for future grating missions. The fabrication of these gratings does not come without challenges. High performance off-plane gratings must be fabricated with precise radial grating patterns, optically at surfaces, and specific facet angles. Such gratings can be made using a series of common micro-fabrication techniques. The resulting process is highly customizable, making it useful for a variety of different mission architectures. In this paper, we detail the fabrication method used to produce high performance off-plane gratings and report the results of a preliminary qualification test of a grating fabricated in this manner. The grating was tested in the off-plane `Littrow' configuration, for which the grating is most efficient for a given diffraction order, and found to achieve 42% relative efficiency in the blaze order with respect to all diffracted light.

Off-Plane reflection gratings were previously predicted to have different efficiencies when the incident light is polarized in the transverse-magnetic (TM) versus transverse-electric (TE) orientations with respect to the grating grooves. However, more recent theoretical calculations which rigorously account for finitely conducting, rather than perfectly conducting, grating materials no longer predict significant polarization sensitivity. We present the first empirical results for radially ruled, laminar groove profile gratings in the off-plane mount which demonstrate no difference in TM versus TE efficiency across our entire 300-1500 eV bandpass. These measurements together with the recent theoretical results confirm that grazing incidence off-plane reflection gratings using real, not perfectly conducting, materials are not polarization sensitive.

We present continued development of laterally graded multilayer mirrors (LGMLs) for a telescope design capable of measuring linear X-ray polarization over a broad spectral band. The multilayer-coated mirrors are used as Bragg reflectors at the Brewster angle. By matching to the dispersion of a spectrometer, one may take advantage of high multilayer reflectivities and achieve modulation factors near 100%. In Phase II of the polarimetry beam- line development, we demonstrated that the system provides 100% polarized X-rays at 0.525 keV (Marshall et al. 2013). In Phase III of the polarimetry beam-line development, we installed an LGML in the source to polarize a wide range of energies between 0.15 and 0.70 keV (Marshall et al. 2014). Here, we present results from continued development of the LGMLs to improve reflectivity in the band of interest, a blazed reflection grating that is suitable for a small flight instrument, and a new detector with a directly deposited optical blocking filter. We also present updated plans for a suborbital rocket experiment designed to detect a polarization level of better than 10% for an active galactic nucleus.

X-ray reflection near the Brewster’s angle by multilayer mirrors can be used to detect the polarization from X-ray sources. The photon emission spectra from some isolated neutron stars and AGN/blazars etc. show that their emission is peaked at low energies near 250eV, which is just below carbon K-absorption edge. The Lightweight Asymmetry and Magnetism Probe (LAMP) is proposed as a micro-satellite mission dedicated for astronomical X-ray polarimetry working at 250 eV and is currently under early phase study. Co/C multilayers are selected and designed at the energy near 250eV with a grazing incident angle of 45°. The carbon layer thickness ratio is optimized to get the highest integral reflectivity which means larger effective signals in the astrophysics observation. The multilayer coatings were manufactured by direct current magnetron sputtering on D263 glasses and electroformed nickels and characterized using Grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry at 8keV. Reactive sputtering with 4%, 6% and 8% nitrogen were used to improve the Co/C multilayer interfaces respectively. Reflectivity for s-polarization and p-polarization light was measured at BEAR beamline in Elettra synchtron facility. Co/C multilayer deposited with 6% nitrogen exhibits the best performance comparing to other multilayers with different nitrogen content.

The LAMP (Lightweight Asymmetry and Magnetism Probe) X-ray telescope is a mission concept to measure the polarization of X-ray astronomical sources at 250 eV via imaging mirrors that reflect at incidence angles near the polarization angle, i.e., 45 deg. Hence, it will require the adoption of multilayer coatings with a few nanometers dspacing in order to enhance the reflectivity. The nickel electroforming technology has already been successfully used to fabricate the high angular resolution imaging mirrors of the X-ray telescopes SAX, XMM-Newton, and Swift/XRT. We are investigating this consolidated technology as a possible technique to manufacture focusing mirrors for LAMP. Although the very good reflectivity performances of this kind of mirrors were already demonstrated in grazing incidence, the reflectivity and the scattering properties have not been tested directly at the unusually large angle of 45 deg. Other possible substrates are represented by thin glass foils or silicon wafers. In this paper we present the results of the X-ray reflectivity campaign performed at the BEAR beamline of Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste on multilayer coatings of various composition (Cr/C, Co/C), deposited with different sputtering parameters on nickel, silicon, and glass substrates, using polarized X-rays in the spectral range 240 - 290 eV.

This paper is focused on recent progress in the development of broad-band multilayer coatings designed for hard X-ray energies, for use in future astronomical telescopes. We describe a new laboratory-based hard X-ray reflectometer for atwavelength characterization of multilayer films, we present the results of an experimental comparison of the hard X-ray performance of several W-based periodic multilayer coatings, and we describe the optimization and experimental performance of new non-periodic Co-based multilayer coatings (both depth-graded and aperiodic), designed for continuous response through the W and Pt K-edges near 70 and 80 keV, respectively. We discuss future research directions in light of these new results.

Ni-based multilayers are a possible solution to extend the upper energy range of hard X-ray focusing telescopes currently limited at ≈79:4 keV by the Pt-K absorption edge. In this study 10 bilayers multilayers with a constant bilayer thickness were coated with the DC magnetron sputtering facility at DTU Space, characterized at 8 keV using X-ray reectometry and fitted using the IMD software. Ni/C multilayers were found to have a mean interface roughness ≈ 1:5 times lower than Ni/B₄C multilayers. Reactive sputtering with ≈ 76% of Ar and ≈ 24% of N₂ reduced the mean interface roughness by a factor of ≈ 1:7. It also increased the coating rate of C by a factor of ≈ 3:1 and lead to a coating process going ≈ 1:6 times faster. Honeycomb collimation proved to limit the increase in mean interface roughness when the bilayer thickness increases at the price of a coating process going ≈ 1:9 times longer than with separator plates. Finally a Ni/C 150 bilayers depth-graded mutilayer was coated with reactive sputtering and honeycomb collimation and then characterized from 10 keV to 150 keV. It showed 10% reectance up to 85 keV.

We have begun to investigate the use of thin-film, multilayer structures to form optics capable of concentrating soft gamma rays with energies greater than 100 keV, beyond the reach of current grazing-incidence hard X-ray mirrors. Alternating layers of low- and high-density materials (e.g., polymers and metals) will channel soft gamma-ray photons via total external reflection. A suitable arrangement of bent structures will then concentrate the incident radiation to a point. Gamma-ray optics made in this way offer the potential for soft gamma-ray telescopes with focal lengths of less than 10 m, removing the need for formation flying spacecraft and opening the field up to balloon-borne instruments. Building on initial investigations at Los Alamos National Laboratory, we are investigating whether it is possible to grow such flexible multi-layer structures with the required thicknesses and smoothness using magnetron sputter and pulsed laser deposition techniques. We present the initial results of tests aimed at fabricating such structures by combining magnetron sputtering with either spin coating or pulsed laser deposition, and demonstrating gamma-ray channeling of 122 keV photons in the laboratory. If successful, this technology offers the potential for transformational increases in sensitivity while dramatically improving the system-level performance of future high-energy astronomy missions through reduced mass and complexity.

One of the developments at MSFC that is underway to meet the demand of high-resolution X-ray optics for future X-ray astronomy missions is the ‘differential deposition’ technique. This process corrects the axial figure profile of optics by selectively depositing material onto the mirror’s reflective surface. The process relies on accurate metrology achieved using a long trace profiler whose slope resolution is better than 1μrad. From these metrology data an error map is generated that shows the profile of material to be deposited to correct the optic’s figure. A computer-controlled, deposition system then applies this corrective coating.

Simulations show that a substantial improvement in angular resolution is possible with this approach after multiple correction ‘cycles’. To assess this, custom coating systems have been developed and corrections of full-shell optics are underway. To date, a factor of < 2 improvement in the imaging quality of the optics has been demonstrated in x-ray tests after a single stage of correction.

One of the challenges faced within the astronomical X-ray community is how to produce lightweight high angular resolution optics for a future X-ray mission capable of probing the early X-ray universe. To this end, the differential deposition project at NASA Marshall Space flight Center (MSFC) is looking to improve current X-ray optic technology by applying a corrective coating with a goal of achieving arc-second-level resolution. This paper will focus on the correction of segmented glass optics fabricated at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the paper will highlight: the design of the vacuum chamber and internal mechanics; the algorithm used to perform the correction; metrology of the glass segments; and the improvement post correction that has been achieved to date.

This paper describes a new variation of the differential deposition/differential erosion technique for mid-frequency surface-height error correction. In our approach, the technique is extended to two dimensions in order to correct surfaceheight errors in thin-shell cylindrical mirror segments with high throughput. We describe the new infrastructure currently being developed to realize this technique, including an LTP system for surface metrology of mid-frequency surfaceheight errors, a new UHV linear stage for precise substrate motion during deposition or erosion, and most crucially, the development of electronically-actuated aperture arrays that are mounted in front of a rectangular magnetron cathode, or a rectangular ion source, in order to modulate the deposition/erosion rate of material in two dimensions, in real-time.

Adjustable X-ray optics represent a potential enabling technology for simultaneously achieving large effective area and high angular resolution for future X-ray Astronomy missions. The adjustable optics employ a bimorph mirror composed of a thin (1.5 μm) film of piezoelectric material deposited on the back of a 0.4 mm thick conical mirror segment. The application of localized electric fields in the piezoelectric material, normal to the mirror surface, result in localized deformations in mirror shape. Thus, mirror fabrication and mounting induced figure errors can be corrected, without the need for a massive reaction structure. With this approach, though, film stresses in the piezoelectric layer, resulting from deposition, crystallization, and differences in coefficient of thermal expansion, can distort the mirror. The large relative thickness of the piezoelectric material compared to the glass means that even 100MPa stresses can result in significant distortions. We have examined compensating for the piezoelectric processing related distortions by the deposition of controlled stress chromium/iridium films on the front surface of the mirror. We describe our experiments with tuning the product of the chromium/iridium film stress and film thickness to balance that resulting from the piezoelectric layer. We also evaluated the repeatability of this deposition process, and the robustness of the iridium coating.

We present our idea to correct the surface profile of X-ray telescope mirrors by employing a spatially distributed variable stress coating. Future X-ray telescope missions require light weight optics with an angular resolution ≤. 1" . However, the typical desired thickness of a light weight mirror shell is ≤ 0.4mm, and to date such thin shelled mirrors that have been fabricated cannot meet the required figure accuracy. Therefore most the common approach is to modify the figure of the initially produced mirror shell. In this paper, we describe one such approach. Our approach uses a DC magnetron sputtering process with a variable electrical bias. The end result is a locally variable stress which has the potential to improve the figure of the initially fabricated thin . In this work we report out first results. These include: reproducibility, important technical details of the coating process, and the results of stability tests on several samples monitored. Further, as a proof of concept, we applied a coating with a modulated bias to demonstrate the feasibility to manipulate the surface profile.

Figure correction of X-ray telescope mirrors will be critical for future missions that require high angular resolution and large collecting areas. In this paper, we show that ion implantation offers a method of correcting figure errors by imparting sub-surface in-plane stress in a controllable magnitude and location in Schott D-263 glass, Corning Eagle XG glass, and crystalline silicon substrates. In addition, we can in theory achieve nearly exact corrections in Schott D-263 glass, by controlling the direction of the stress. We show that sufficient stress may be applied to Schott D-263 glass to achieve figure correction in mirrors with simulated initial figure errors. We also report on progress of a system that will be capable of correcting conical shell mirror substrates.

We report on improvements in our efforts to control and characterize piezoelectrically adjustable, thin glass optics. In the past, an optical profilometer and a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor have been used to measure influence functions for a at adjustable mirror. An electronics system has since been developed to control > 100 actuator cells and has been used in a full calibration of a high-yield at adjustable mirror. The calibrated influence functions have been used to induce a pre-determined figure change to the mirror, representing our first attempt at figure control of a full mirror. Furthermore, we have adapted our metrology systems for cylindrical optics, allowing characterization of Wolter-type mirrors. We plan to use this metrology to perform the first piezoelectric figure correction of a cylindrical mirror over the next year.

Optics for future X-ray telescopes will be characterized by very large aperture and focal length, and will be made of lightweight materials like glass or silicon in order to keep the total mass within acceptable limits. Optical modules based on thin slumped glass foils are being developed at various institutes, aiming at improving the angular resolution to a few arcsec HEW. Thin mirrors are prone to deform, so they require a careful integration to avoid deformations and even correct forming errors. On the other hand, this offers the opportunity to actively correct the residual deformation: a viable possibility to improve the mirror figure is the application of piezoelectric actuators onto the non-optical side of the mirrors, and several groups are already at work on this approach. The concept we are developing consists of actively integrating thin glass foils with piezoelectric patches, fed by voltages driven by the feedback provided by X-rays. The actuators are commercial components, while the tension signals are carried by a printed circuit obtained by photolithography, and the driving electronic is a multi-channel low power consumption voltage supply developed inhouse. Finally, the shape detection and the consequent voltage signal to be provided to the piezoelectric array are determined in X-rays, in intra-focal setup at the XACT facility at INAF/OAPA. In this work, we describe the manufacturing steps to obtain a first active mirror prototype and the very first test performed in X-rays.

Our goal is to improve initially fabricated X-ray optics figures by applying a magnetic field to drive a magnetic smart material (MSM) coating on the non-reflecting side of the mirror. The consequent deformation of the surface should be three-dimensional. Here we will report on the results of working with a glass sample of 50x50x0.2 mm that has been coated with MSMs. The coated glass can be deformed in 3 dimensions and its surface profile was measured under our Zygo NewView white light interferometer (WLI). The driving magnetic field was produced via a pseudo-magnetic write head made up of two permanent magnet posts. The magnet posts were moved about the bottom of the glass sample with a 3-d computer controlled translation stage. The system allowed four degrees of freedom of motion, i.e., up and down, side to side, back and forth, and rotation of the posts (3.175 mm diameter) about the vertical axis to allow us to change the orientation of the magnetic field in the (horizontal) plane of the sample. We established a finite element analysis (FEA) model to predict deformations and compare with the observed results in order to guide the application of the magnetically controlled MSMs to improve the future X-ray optics figures.

We present in this paper an update on the design of BEaTriX (Beam Expander Testing X-ray facility), an X-ray apparatus to be realized at INAF/OAB and that will generate an expanded, uniform and parallel beam of soft X-rays. BEaTriX will be used to perform the functional tests of X-ray focusing modules of large X-ray optics such as those for the ATHENA X-ray observatory, using the Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) as a baseline technology, and Slumped Glass Optics (SGO) as a possible alternative. Performing the tests in X-rays provides the advantage of an in-situ, at-wavelength quality control of the optical modules produced in series by the industry, performing a selection of the modules with the best angular resolution, and, in the case of SPOs, there is also the interesting possibility to align the parabolic and the hyperbolic stacks directly under X-rays, to minimize the aberrations. However, a parallel beam with divergence below 2 arcsec is necessary in order to measure mirror elements that are expected to reach an angular resolution of about 4 arcsec, since the ATHENA requirement for the entire telescope is 5 arcsec. Such a low divergence over the typical aperture of modular optics would require an X-ray source to be located in a several kilometers long vacuum tube. In contrast, BEaTriX will be compact enough (5 m x 14 m) to be housed in a small laboratory, will produce an expanded X-ray beam 60 mm x 200 mm broad, characterized by a very low divergence (1.5 arcsec HEW), strong polarization, high uniformity, and X-ray energy selectable between 1.5 keV and 4.5 keV. In this work we describe the BEaTriX layout and show a performance simulation for the X-ray energy of 4.5 keV.

A collimator, that parallelizes an X-ray beam, provides a significant improvement of the metrology to characterize X-ray optics for space instruments at MPE's PANTER X-ray test facility. A Fresnel zone plate was selected as a collimating optic, as it meets a good angular resolution < 0.1ⁿ combined with a large active area > 10 cm². Such an optic is ideally suited to illuminate Silicon Pore Optic (SPO) modules as proposed for ATHENA.

This paper provides the theoretic description of such a Fresnel zone plate especially considering resolution and efficiency. Based on the theoretic results the collimator setup performance is analyzed and requirements for fabrication and alignment are calculated.

We have developed an X-ray reflectometer (XRR) system for the characterization of various soft and hard X-ray optic coatings being developed at Marshall Space Flight Center. The XRR system generates X-ray radiation with a highoutput Rigaku rotating anode source (RAS), operational at a voltage range of 5 – 35 kV, a current range of 10-150 mA. A series of precision slits, adjustable down to approximately 25 micrometers, positioned in the beam path limit the extent of the x-ray beam and control the resolution of the XRR measurement while a goniometer consisting of two precision rotary stages controls the angular position of the coating sample and X-ray detector with respect to the beam. With the high count rate capability of the RAS, a very-high-speed silicon drift detector, the Amptek Fast Silicon Drift Detector (SDD), is implemented to achieve good count rate efficiency and improve reflectivity measurements of coatings at larger graze angles. The coating sample can be adjusted using a series of linear and tipping stages to perfectly align the center of the sample with the center of the incident X-ray beam. These stages in conjunction with the goniometer components are integrated through original control software resulting in full automation of the XRR system. We will show some initial XRR measurements of both single and multilayer coatings made with this system. These results and future measurements are used to characterize potential X-ray optic coatings culminating in the production of highly reflective coatings operational at a large range of X-ray energies.

Marshall Space Flight Center is developing a direct fabrication technique in which high resolution x-ray optics are fabricated through surface polishing and figuring of a full-shell substrate. The use of a computer controlled polishing machine leads to quick convergence to high resolution mirrors. The vailability of an in situ surface figure metrology technique would permit even higher convergence rates and reduce the surface profile errors associated with installation and re-alignment of the x-ray mirror shell between the metrology and polishing processes. A surface-figure-metrology instrument based on an optical deflectometer scheme is under development at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The current status of the deflectometer instrument development is presented here.