Thin glass shell oriented to wide field x-ray telescope

Civitani, M.; Citterio, O.; Campana, S.; Conconi, P.; Mattaini, E.; Pareschi, G.; Tagliaferri, G.; Parodi, Giancarlo; Burwitz, V.; Hartner, Gisela; Arnold, J. B.; Schuler, S.; Combrinck, H.; Freeman, R. R.; Morton, R.; Simpson, P E; Walker, David D.

doi:10.1117/12.925906

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…Brera/Instituto Nazionale Di Astrofisica (Brera/INAF) has successfully fabricated a 2-mm-thick full-shell mirror with a monolithic structure 3 with an angular resolution < 20 arcseconds almost constant across a field of view of 1 deg diameter. The technology development is focused on using fused silica for their substrate material, and their fabrication technique capitalizes on the Chandra approach 4 .…”

Section: Full Shell Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lynx Mission concept status

Gaskin

Allured

Bandler

et al. 2017

UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XX

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Lynx is a concept under study for prioritization in the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Providing orders of magnitude increase in sensitivity over Chandra, Lynx will examine the first black holes and their galaxies, map the large-scale structure and galactic halos, and shed new light on the environments of young stars and their planetary systems. In order to meet the Lynx science goals, the telescope consists of a high-angular resolution optical assembly complemented by an instrument suite that may include a High Definition X-ray Imager, X-ray Microcalorimeter and an X-ray Grating Spectrometer. The telescope is integrated onto the spacecraft to form a comprehensive observatory concept. Progress on the formulation of the Lynx telescope and observatory configuration is reported in this paper.

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Section: Full Shell Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lynx Mission concept status

Gaskin

Allured

Bandler

et al. 2017

UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XX

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“…Manufacturing errors of 5 arcsec are in line with expected optical performances achievable with the previous manufacturing process [10] that was based on the bonnet polishing of the shell with a IRP600 Zeeko machine [12] combined with a pitch tool directly mounted on its vertical carriage, without any final correction via IBF. The achieved results with a manufactured prototypal shell have been 17 arcsec HEW on axis (as measured with X-rays in full illumination at the Panter/MPE facility).…”

Section: The Optical Designmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…For the new project we intend to improve the results obtained in the previous experiments after the lessons learned with the fabrication of previous prototypes [10] and by introducing the IBF process for the final shape correction. In our program we consider the manufacture of the shells up to 95 cm in diameter, which corresponds to the present capabilities for the manufacturing of the rough shells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Thin fused silica optics for a few arcsec angular resolution and large collecting area x-ray telescope

et al. 2013

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The implementation of a X-ray mission with high imaging capabilities, similar to those achieved with Chandra (< 1 arcsec Half Energy Width, HEW), but with a much larger throughput is a very attractive perspective, even if challenging. For such a mission the scientific opportunities, in particular for the study of the early Universe, would remain at the state of the art for the next decades. At the beginning of the new millennium the XEUS mission has been proposed, with an effective area of several m 2 and an angular resolution better than 2 arcsec HEW. Unfortunately, after the initial study, this mission was not implemented, mainly due to the costs and the low level of technology readiness. Currently the most advanced proposal for such a kind of mission is the SMART-X project, led by CfA and involving several other US Institutes. This project is based on adjustable segments of thin foil mirrors with piezo-electric actuators, aiming to achieve an effective area > 2 m 2 at 1 keV and an angular resolution better than 1 arcsec HEW. Another attractive technology to realize an X-ray telescope with similar characteristics is being developed at NASA/Goddard. In this case the mirrors are based on Si substrates that are super-polished and figured starting from a bulky Si ingot, from which they are properly cut. Here we propose an alternative method based on precise direct grinding, figuring and polishing of thin (a few mm) glass shells with innovative deterministic polishing methods. This is followed by a final correction via ion figuring to obtain the desired accuracy in order to achieve the 1 arc sec HEW requirement. For this purpose, a temporary stiffening structure is used to support the shell from the polishing operations up to its integration in the telescope supporting structure. We will present the technological process under development, the results achieved so far and some mission scenarios based on this kind of optics, aiming to achieve an effective area more than 10 times larger than Chandra and an angular resolution of 1 arcsec HEW on axis and of a few arcsec off-axis across a large field of view (1 deg in diameter).

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“…The S3 has to be used for handling and supporting the shell in all the manufacturing steps (grinding, polishing, x-ray calibrations): it is designed to follow the shell up to the final integration in the SW. A similar system (called hereafter SSS) has been already designed and used for thin glass shells manufacturing. 9,10 The S3 handling system should interface the different figuring equipment, limiting the deformations experienced by the shell. A sketch of the system is reported in Fig.…”

Section: Shell Support Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lynx x-ray optics based on thin monolithic shells: design and development

Civitani

Parodi

Vecchi

et al. 2019

J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst.

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Lynx is the future x-ray observatory with superb imaging capabilities (<1 arc sec half-energy width) and large throughput (2 m 2 effective area @ 1 keV), which is being considered in the U.S. to take over Chandra. The implementation of the x-ray mirror module represents a very challenging aspect, and different approaches are being considered. Thin and low-weight substrates, working in grazing incidence configuration, are necessary to meet the severe mass constraints, but they have to also preserve the requirement of an excellent angular resolution. The use of monolithic glass (fused silica) shells is an attractive solution, provided that their thickness is kept very small [<4 mm for mirror shells up of 3-m diameter]. We present the optomechanical design of the Lynx mirror assembly based on this approach, together with the ongoing technological development process. In particular, we discuss the figuring process, which is based on direct polishing followed by an ion-beam figuring correction. A temporary structure is specifically devoted to support the shell during the figuring and polishing operations and to manage the handling of the shell through all phases up to integration into the final telescope supporting spoke wheel. The results achieved so far on a prototype shell will be discussed.

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Thin glass shell oriented to wide field x-ray telescope

Cited by 5 publications

References 5 publications

Lynx Mission concept status

Lynx Mission concept status

Thin fused silica optics for a few arcsec angular resolution and large collecting area x-ray telescope

Lynx x-ray optics based on thin monolithic shells: design and development

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