Advances in active x-ray telescope technologies

Carolyn Atkins; Peter Doel; David Brooks; Samantha Thompson; Charlotte Feldman; Richard Willingale; Tim Button; Daniel Rodriguez Sanmartin; Dou Zhang; Ady James; Craig Theobald; Andrew D. Smith; Hongchang Wang

doi:10.1117/12.825919

31 August 2009 Advances in active x-ray telescope technologies

Carolyn Atkins, Peter Doel, David Brooks, Samantha Thompson, Charlotte Feldman, Richard Willingale, Tim Button, Daniel Rodriguez Sanmartin, Dou Zhang, Ady James, Craig Theobald, Andrew D. Smith, Hongchang Wang

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7437, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy IV; 74371H (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.825919
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2009, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The next generation of X-ray telescopes will require both high resolution and high sensitivity to target the earliest astronomical objects, to this end the UK based Smart X-ray Optics (SXO) project has been investigating the application of active/adaptive optics to traditional grazing incidence X-ray optics and this has resulted in the fabrication and testing of our first active X-ray prototype in November 2008. Results from these initial tests have proved very encouraging for this advancing technology and have highlighted the prototype's ability to deform its optical surface through piezoelectric actuation. We present a critical analysis of the first prototype system, discussing metrology of the mandrel, the nickel replicated ellipsoidal optics and the prototype. The measured actuator influence functions of the prototype are compared against finite element analysis simulations and the observed characteristics are then described. The advances required in the current technology are then outlined in relation to a second generation of active X-ray prototype, which is scheduled for X-ray testing in 2010.

Citation Download Citation

Carolyn Atkins, Peter Doel, David Brooks, Samantha Thompson, Charlotte Feldman, Richard Willingale, Tim Button, Daniel Rodriguez Sanmartin, Dou Zhang, Ady James, Craig Theobald, Andrew D. Smith, and Hongchang Wang "Advances in active x-ray telescope technologies", Proc. SPIE 7437, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy IV, 74371H (31 August 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.825919

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