A stacked prism lens concept for next generation hard X-ray telescopes

Abstract

Effective collecting area, angular resolution, field of view and energy response are fundamental attributes of X-ray telescopes. The performance of state-of-the-art telescopes is currently restricted by Wolter optics, especially for hard X-rays. In this paper, we report the development of a new approach - the Stacked Prism Lens, which is lightweight, modular and has the potential for a significant improvement in effective area, while retaining high angular resolution. The proposed optics is built by stacking discs embedded with prismatic rings, created with photoresist by focused UV lithography. We demonstrate the SPL approach using a prototype lens which was manufactured and characterized at a synchrotron radiation facility. The design of a potential satellite-borne X-ray telescope is outlined and the performance is compared to contemporary missions.

References in corpus (5)

• The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission
• Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO):Overview
• The Hot and Energetic Universe: A White Paper presenting the science theme motivating the Athena+ mission
• The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory
• Design and imaging performance of achromatic diffractive/refractive X-ray and Gamma-ray Fresnel lenses

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Gamma-Ray Polarimetry
• Construction and Validation of a Geometry-based Mathematical Model for the Hard X-ray Imager
• Hard X-ray Polarimetry -- An overview of the method, science drivers and recent findings