Silicon Carbide Grid Supports for X-ray Telescopes

PhotonFoils will develop single-crystal silicon carbide grid supports for large-area X-ray microcalorimeter entrance filters. Compared with existing silicon grids, the PhotonFoils silicon carbide grids will have >3X higher thermal conductance and higher strength. EMI shielding of 20dB per grid at 1GHz for 100mm apertures can be incorporated. Higher soft X-ray transmittance than achieved with Hitomi SXS filters appears feasible.

X-ray Surveyor, Micro-X, GOES satellite X-ray imagers, atmospheric test windows with low extraneous signal, X-ray windows for solar imaging, CCD optical blocking filters with low contaminant accumulation, neutral atom detector support grids, electron detection support grids

NIST microcalorimeters, large area X-ray windows for laboratory detectors, high harmonic generation (HHG)bandpass and order selection filters, free electron laser beam components, fourth generation synchrotron beamline components, beryllium replacement windows providing higher elemental detectivity, support grids for proton stripping foils

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