Preparing the mirror technology for the Athena x-ray telescope
- Paper number
IAC-17,A7,1,4,x40242
- Author
Dr. Eric Wille, ESA, The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Dr. Marcos Bavdaz, European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Dr. Mark Ayre, ESA, The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Dr. Ivo Ferreira, European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Dr. SEBASTIAAN FRANSEN, European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands
- Year
2017
- Abstract
The Athena mission (Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics) requires lightweight X-ray Wolter optics with a high angular resolution and large effective area. For achieving an effective area of 2 m² (at 1 keV) and an angular resolution of below 5 arcsec, the Silicon Pore Optics technology was developed by ESA together with a consortium of European industry. Silicon Pore Optics are made of commercial Si wafers using process technology adapted from the semiconductor industry. The Athena Telescope requires several hundreds of mirror modules to be integrated into a large structure. The complete mirror assembly requires a high mechanical stability and good thermal control. In order to move the focus between the two different Athena instruments, a tilting mechanisms for the mirror is foreseen. We present the current design of the Athena mirror concentrating on the technology development status of the Silicon Pore Optics, the integration into the mirror structures and the mirror assembly tilting mechanism.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-17,A7,1,4,x40242.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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