Micropore x-ray optics developments and application to an x-ray timing mission

M. Beijersbergen; Marcos Bavdaz; Ernst Jan Buis; David H. Lumb

doi:10.1117/12.552937

11 October 2004 Micropore x-ray optics developments and application to an x-ray timing mission

M. Beijersbergen, Marcos Bavdaz, Ernst Jan Buis, David H. Lumb

Proceedings Volume 5488, UV and Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Systems; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552937
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2004, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

Very lightweight X-ray optics are being developed by ESA and its industrial partners, for a number of X-ray astronomy and planetary missions. These developments could significantly improve the performance of future X-ray timing instrumentation. Based on Micro-Channel Plate (MCP) technology, the novel optics effectively reduce the mirror thickness by almost two orders of magnitude, and therefore also the mass of the telescope optics. Very large collecting areas become feasible for space implementation, especially as required for X-ray timing observations. Furthermore this technology leads to much reduced detector sizes due to the use of imaging X-ray optics. This dramatically improves the detected signal-to-noise ratios, as well as introducing photon collection areas sufficiently large as to study temporal phenomena on the millisecond time scale. This is particularly important to improve the studies of compact X-ray sources, both for improving the signal to noise ratios in temporal bins so that spectral or fluctuation analyses are improved, and for extending the range of measurements to fainter classes of objects. We present a brief overview of the MCP micro-pore optics technology and a possible design for an X-ray timing mission based on this technology and we analyze the performance of such mission.

Citation Download Citation

M. Beijersbergen, Marcos Bavdaz, Ernst Jan Buis, and David H. Lumb "Micropore x-ray optics developments and application to an x-ray timing mission", Proc. SPIE 5488, UV and Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Systems, (11 October 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552937

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