We report on preliminary results of full aperture X-ray optical tests at the X-ray test facility at the University of Colorado (USA) of four test modules of Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) X-ray optical systems performed in August 2010. Direct experimental comparisons were made between gold-coated optics of two novel substrates: glass foils and silicon wafers. The preliminary results are promising, with full-width half-maxima of full stacks being of order of 30 arcsec in 2D full arrangement. These results justify further efforts to improve KB optics for use in low-cost, high-performance space-borne astronomical imaging instruments for X-ray wavelengths.

Date Published: 24 May 2011
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8076, EUV and X-Ray Optics: Synergy between Laboratory and Space II, 807609 (24 May 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.890517

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8076:
EUV and X-Ray Optics: Synergy between Laboratory and Space II
René Hudec; Ladislav Pina, Editor(s)