TY - JOUR A1 - Probst, Anne-Catherine A1 - Stollenwerk, Manfred A1 - Emmerich, Florian A1 - Büttner, Andre A1 - Zeising, Sebastian A1 - Stadtmüller, Johannes A1 - Riethmüller, Franziska A1 - Stehlikova, Veronika A1 - Mingwu, Wen A1 - Proserpio, Laura A1 - Damm, Christine A1 - Rellinghaus, Bernd A1 - Döhring, Thorsten T1 - Influence of sputtering pressure on the nanostructure and the X-ray reflectivity of iridium coatings JF - Surface and Coatings Technology N2 - Reflective mirror coatings made of iridium are used in X-ray telescopes of the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) launched in 1999 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to investigate astronomical sources at photon energies below 10. keV. These coatings were produced in a DC magnetron sputtering process and have so far proven their suitability for space-based applications. We are considering in the present paper the processing of thin iridium films for lightweight telescopes using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique with an oblique angle deposition. The coating development presented here is focused on the influence of total sputtering pressure on film properties as well as on its impact on the mirror's performance. Characterisation methods such as X-ray diffractometry, X-ray reflectometry, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy have been used. Correlations between morphology, density, surface micro-roughness, crystal structure of the iridium layer and the expected reflectivity of the X-ray mirror are described and discussed. KW - Iridium KW - sputtering KW - microstructure KW - coating KW - X-ray KW - Iridium KW - Röntgenteleskop Y1 - 2017 UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2017.10.062 SN - 0257-8972 VL - 2017 IS - 343 SP - 101 EP - 107 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Probst, Anne-Catherine A1 - Döhring, Thorsten A1 - Stollenwerk, Manfred A1 - Mingwu, Wen A1 - Proserpio, Laura ED - Cugny, Bruno ED - Karafolas, Nikos ED - Sodnik, Zoran T1 - Iridium coatings for space based x-ray optics T2 - Proceedings of SPIE N2 - Future investigations of astronomical X-ray sources require light weight telescope systems with large collecting areas and good angular resolution. The Wolter I type telescope design offers a suitable possibility for obtaining performant X-ray mirrors with high collecting areas. The technology based on replicated slumped glass optics using thin glasses thereby provides the opportunity to fulfil the light weight and mass production requirements. In NASA's telescope NuSTAR this technology has been proven as advantageous compared to previous systems. Coating thin glasses with iridium, gold or platinum enhances the reflectivity of X-ray mirrors. KW - Iridium KW - coating KW - X-ray KW - astronomy KW - mirror KW - Iridium KW - Spiegelteleskop KW - Röntgenastronomie Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2296167 VL - 2017 IS - 10562 SP - 105621E-01 EP - 105621E-09 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Döhring, Thorsten A1 - Probst, Anne-Catherine A1 - Emmerich, Florian A1 - Stollenwerk, Manfred A1 - Stehlikova, Veronika A1 - Friedrich, Peter A1 - Damm, Christine T1 - Development of iridium coated X-ray mirrors for astronomical applications T2 - Proceedings of the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) N2 - Future space-based X-ray observatories need to be very lightweight for launcher mass constraints. Therefore they will use a reduced mirror thickness, which results in the additional requirement of low coating stress to avoid deformation of the initial precisely shaped mirror substrates. Due to their excellent reflection properties iridium coatings are sometimes applied for grazing incidence mirrors in astronomical X-ray telescopes. At Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences the coating of thin iridium films by an RF-magnetron sputtering technique is under development. The work is embedded in collaborations with the Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera in Italy, the German Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden, and the French Institute Fresnel. Sputtering with different parameters leads to iridium films with different properties. The current work is focused on the microstructure of the iridium coatings to study the influence of the substrate and of the argon gas pressure on the thin film growing process. Correlations between coating density, surface micro-roughness, the crystalline structure of the iridium layers, and the expected reflectivity of the X-ray mirror as well as coating stress effects are presented and discussed. The final goal of the project is to integrate the produced prototype mirrors into an X-ray telescope module. On a longer timescale measurements of the mirror modules optical performance are planned at the X-ray test facility PANTER. KW - X-ray KW - telescope KW - mirror KW - iridium KW - coating KW - Iridium KW - Röntgenteleskop Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2273988 VL - 2017 IS - 10399 SP - 103991C-1 EP - 103991C-8 PB - SPIE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Stehlikova, Veronika A1 - Urban, Martin A1 - Nentvich, Ondrej A1 - Inneman, Adolf A1 - Döhring, Thorsten A1 - Probst, Anne-Catherine ED - Hudec, Rene T1 - Study of lobster eye optics with iridium coated X-ray mirrors for a rocket experiment T2 - Proceedings of the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) N2 - In the field of astronomical X-ray telescopes, different types of optics based on grazing incidence mirrors can be used. This contribution describes the special design of a lobster-eye optics in Schmidt's arrangement, which uses dual reflection to increase the collecting area. The individual mirrors of this wide-field telescope are made of at silicon wafers coated with reflecting iridium layers. This iridium coatings have some advantages compared to more common gold layers as is shown in corresponding simulations. The iridium coating process for the X-ray mirrors was developed within a cooperation of the Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences and the Czech Technical University in Prague. Different mirror parameters essential for a proper function of the X-ray optics, like the surface microroughness and the problematic of a good adhesion quality of the coatings were studied. After integration of the individual mirrors into the final lobster-eye optics and the corresponding space qualification testing it is planned to fly the telescope in a recently proposed NASA rocket experiment. KW - Lobster Eye KW - Iridium KW - mirror KW - coating KW - Iridium KW - Spiegelteleskop KW - optische Schicht Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2265769 VL - 2017 IS - 10235 SP - 1023505-1 EP - 1023505-7 PB - SPIE International Society for Optics and Photonics CY - Bellingham WA ER -