X-ray Micropore Optics Fabrication with Micro-3D Printing

Micro-Pore Optics (MPO), also know as Lobster-eye optics are used in X-ray telescopes to provide a wide field of view in a compact format (light weight, short focal length), making them ideal for missions searching for transient sources and/or electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave events. At this time there is only one company in the world available to US investigators, based in France, capable of producing high quality MPOs from a proprietary glass. The optics are sometimes coated with a metal such as iridium, to increase reflectivity. The devices require delicate handling and quite expensive, especially for missions requiring hundreds of them. Furthermore, there are sufficient irregularities in quality that one generally needs to purchase many more than will actually be used. In this proposal we want to investigate the possibility of fabricating micropore optics using micro-3D printing. Compared to standard 3-D printing, micro-3D processes can build significantly smaller structures. They are commercially available in the US and use a metal (typically stainless steel or titanium), making the devices very strong and resilient. Unfortunately, micro-3D printing does not yet reach the level of surface roughness required for X-ray optics. In addition to building test optics, this investigation will study different options to reduce the surface roughness of the devices, using etching, thin film deposition, casting, or a combination of the above. The devices will be evaluated in the lab using electron microscopy, optical and X-ray techniques, and, if successful, will be tested at the 100 m beamline at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. This should be considered a high-risk/high-reward proposal. We do understand the technical difficulties associated with producing sufficiently high quality optics, however, if successful, it would make MPOs cheaper, easier to fabricated, perhaps more uniform, and significantly more resilient for future space applications. The team involved is the leader in the use and characterization of MPOs in the US, it was the first to ever launch them in space onboard a sounding rocket, and it is best suited to carry out the proposed investigation.

The Astrophysics Research and Analysis program (APRA) supports suborbital and suborbital-class investigations, development of detectors and supporting technology, laboratory astrophysics, and limited ground-based observing. Basic research proposals in these areas are solicited for investigations that are relevant to NASA's programs in astronomy and astrophysics, including the entire range of photons, gravitational waves, and particle astrophysics. The emphasis of this solicitation is on technologies and investigations that advance NASA astrophysics missions and goals.

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