ATHENA x-ray optics development and accommodation

Bavdaz, Marcos; Wille, Eric; Ayre, Mark; Ferreira, Ivo; Shortt, Brian; Fransen, Sebastiaan; Millinger, Mark; Collon, Maximilien J.; Vacanti, Giuseppe; Barrière, Nicolas M.; Landgraf, Boris; Riekerink, Mark Olde; Haneveld, Jeroen; Start, Ronald; Baren, Coen van; Ferreira, Desiree Della Monica; Massahi, Sonny; Svendsen, Sara; Christensen, Finn Erland; Krumrey, Michael; Handick, Evelyn; Burwitz, V.; Bradshaw, Miranda; Pareschi, G.; Valsecchi, Giuseppe; Vernani, Dervis; Kailla, Geeta; Mundon, William; Phillips, G.N.; Schneider, Jakob Hans Josef; Korhonen, T.; Sánchez, Alejandro; Heinis, Dominique; Colldelram, Carles; Torti, Massimiliano; Willingale, R.

doi:10.1117/12.2594689

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) technology [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] provides ATHENA the required combination of large effective area and good angular resolution while remaining within the mass allocated to the optics. None of the X-ray optics technologies flown to date [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] can achieve such performance, as is illustrated in figure 1, where the effective area per kg of optics is plotted against the number of angular resolution elements the optics can resolve in one arc minute.…”

Section: Mission Enabler Silicon Pore Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

ATHENA optics technology development

Bavdaz¹,

Wille²,

Ayre³

et al. 2022

Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The next generation X-ray observatory ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High ENergy Astrophysics) requires an optics with unprecedented performance. It is the combination of low mass, large effective area and good angular resolution that is the challenge of the X-ray optics of such a mission. ATHENA is the second Large Class mission in the Science Programme of ESA, and is currently in a reformulation process, following a design-to-cost approach to meet the cost limit of an ESA L-class mission.The Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) is the mission enabler being specifically developed for ATHENA, in a joint effort by industry, research institutions and ESA. All aspects of the optics are being addressed, from the mirror plates and their coatings, over the mirror modules and their assembly into the ATHENA telescope, to the facilities required to build and test the flight optics, demonstrating performance, robustness, and programmatic compliance.The SPO technology is currently being matured to the level required for the adoption of the ATHENA mission, i.e., the start of the mission implementation phase. The monocrystalline Silicon material and pore structure of the SPO provide this optics with excellent thermal and mechanical properties. Benefiting from technology spin-in from the semiconductor industry, the equipment, processes, and materials used to produce the SPO are highly sophisticated and optimised.

show abstract

Section: Mission Enabler Silicon Pore Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

ATHENA optics technology development

Bavdaz¹,

Wille²,

Ayre³

et al. 2022

Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In Figure 1 the optics of these missions are compared, considering the aforementioned three parameters. The area density of the respective optics, expressed as effective area per mass of the optics is plotted against the resolving power of the optics, expressed as angular resolution elements per arcminute [6]. A clear correlation is observed despite the fact that the optics technologies are very different, ranging from foil-based optics to replicated optics and monolithic optics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Athena requires optics which cannot be achieved with the X-ray optics technologies flown to date. Adapted from [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicon Pore Optics

Barrière¹,

Bavdaz²,

Collon³

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) uses commercially available monocrystalline double-sided superpolished silicon wafers as a basis to produce mirrors that form lightweight high-resolution X-ray optics. The technology has been invented by cosine Measurement Systems and the European Space Agency (ESA) and developed together with scientific and industrial partners to mass production levels. It leverages techniques and processes developed over decades by the semiconductor industry to handle, process, and clean silicon wafers and plates. SPO is an enabling technology for large space-borne X-ray telescopes such as Athena and ARCUS, operating in the 0.2 to 12 keV band, with angular resolution aiming for 5 arc seconds. SPO has also shown to be a versatile technology that can be further developed for gamma-ray optics, medical applications and for material research.

show abstract

“…The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) continues the development of high quality thin film coatings for the European Space Agency mission ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High-Energy Astrophysics) [1][2][3][4] . In 2018, an industrial scale coating facility was installed and commissioned 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coating process parameter influence on thin films for the ATHENA x-ray optics

Massahi¹,

Ferreira²,

Christensen³

et al. 2022

Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The thin film deposition technology for fabrication of the mirror optics for the Advanced Telescope for High-Energy Astrophysics (ATHENA) has been established. Numerous coating process parameters impact the quality of the thin films. Defining a margin within the coating process parameter space, where the deposited thin film performs similar in X-ray reflectivity is key to avoid unforeseen risks within the coating process for the ATHENA flight optics production.In this work, we investigate the coating process parameter influence on the thin film properties with a focus on micro roughness, deposition rate and residual film stress when deposited under various process conditions.The thin films were produced by varying the following three coating process parameters: discharge power, discharge voltage and working gas pressure. The thin films were characterized using X-ray reflectometry at 3.4-10.0 keV. A main result of this work is that the residual stress of single layer iridium and boron carbide films can be reduced by a factor of approximately two, by increasing the working gas pressure while maintaining a high film quality.

show abstract

ATHENA x-ray optics development and accommodation

Cited by 16 publications

References 8 publications

ATHENA optics technology development

ATHENA optics technology development

Silicon Pore Optics

Coating process parameter influence on thin films for the ATHENA x-ray optics

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About