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In the field of X-ray astronomy different types of telescope optics based on grazing incidence mirrors can be used. This contribution presents a special design of a Lobster Eye wide-field telescope with mirrors based on flat silicon wafers and the task of coating such mirror substrates with reflective iridium layers.
Indirect glass slumping of grazing incidence mirror segments for lightweight x-ray telescopes
(2017)
The paper provides a description of recent progress in the development of lightweight, precision and highthroughput
grazing-incidence mirrors for X-ray astronomy made of glass. In particular, the indirect slumping
technology under investigation at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) is reviewed and
recent activities are presented together with the research approach. The glass slumping technique foresees
several steps: a thermal forming process using a suitable mould; a re
ective layer application; the alignment
and integration of mirror segments into a supporting structure; and the nal verication of prototype modules
using X-rays. Each step is considered at MPE, with the involvement of partner institutes and universities. The
last year of activities was mainly dedicated to the procurement of new moulds and to the application of Iridium
coating. The main results will be presented.
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.
High angular resolution, large collecting area and reduced weight per unit area are required for astronomical X-ray telescopes of the next generation observatories. New technologies for processing X-ray mirrors are under development to fulfill these needs. One option is to realize a Wolter I type telescope constituted of several hundred nested thin and light-weight X-ray mirror segments. The individual mirror segments need to be coated with an about 100 nm thick film of a high-reflective material to enhance the reflectivity for X-rays. Thereby an accurate shape metrology of the segments is necessary to predict the angular resolution of the astronomical telescope as well as to control the development process of X-ray mirrors. We present the challenges in shape measurements of thin glasses used to control the coating process and first experimental results about the repeatability of the measurements.