x-Ray space telescopes are frequently identified as high priorities for future scientific missions by many space agencies. Their enabling technology requirement is a x-ray mirror with a large ...collecting area, low mass and high optical resolution. The European Space Agency (ESA) has developed the Silicon Pore Optics technology to fulfil the needs for future x-ray missions. ESA also supported the development of slumped glass x-ray optics as a backup technology. For the Athena mission, selected in June 2014, Silicon Pore Optics was selected as a baseline. Silicon Pore Optics use existing components, processes and tools from the semiconductor industry, for example super-polished wafers, wet-chemical processing steps or robotic tools for mass production. This technology spin-in demonstrates how to successfully profit from non-space industries and their large resources for research and development. We will present the manufacturing process of Silicon Pore Optics, the achieved optical performance and their technology readiness level. Applications for different mission profiles will be discussed. We will highlight and explain the successful collaboration between companies and institutes coming from the semiconductor industry and the aerospace sector as an example how to use existing investments outside the space industry. An outlook for the next development steps to prepare Silicon Pore Optics for a flight programme will be given.
•We present Silicon Pore Optics technology development and manufacturing processes.•We identify the enabling impact of existing semiconductor industry heritage.•We present the latest design upgrades and test results.•Silicon Pore Optics are selected as baseline technology for ESA׳s Athena mission.•Manufacturing of two mirror modules per day is feasible for a flight programme.
Atom interferometers have a multitude of proposed applications in space including precise measurements of the Earth’s gravitational field, in navigation & ranging, and in fundamental physics such as ...tests of the weak equivalence principle (WEP) and gravitational wave detection. While atom interferometers are realized routinely in ground-based laboratories, current efforts aim at the development of a space compatible design optimized with respect to dimensions, weight, power consumption, mechanical robustness and radiation hardness. In this paper, we present a design of a high-sensitivity differential dual species
85
Rb/
87
Rb atom interferometer for space, including physics package, laser system, electronics and software. The physics package comprises the atom source consisting of dispensers and a 2D magneto-optical trap (MOT), the science chamber with a 3D-MOT, a magnetic trap based on an atom chip and an optical dipole trap (ODT) used for Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) creation and interferometry, the detection unit, the vacuum system for 10
−11
mbar ultra-high vacuum generation, and the high-suppression factor magnetic shielding as well as the thermal control system. The laser system is based on a hybrid approach using fiber-based telecom components and high-power laser diode technology and includes all laser sources for 2D-MOT, 3D-MOT, ODT, interferometry and detection. Manipulation and switching of the laser beams is carried out on an optical bench using Zerodur bonding technology. The instrument consists of 9 units with an overall mass of 221 kg, an average power consumption of 608 W (814 W peak), and a volume of 470 liters which would well fit on a satellite to be launched with a Soyuz rocket, as system studies have shown.
Silicon direct bonding is a manufacturing process used in the fabrication of electronic, optical and mechanical microsystems. Chemical bonds are providing an intimate surface contact and strong ...structural stiffness that is, for this reason, also suitable for large assemblies. Based on the knowledge of the surface properties and of X-ray optics, we are making mirror imaging systems. The manufacturing process resorts to the highest-grade 12 inch silicon wafers with double-sided super polished and nearly perfect plan parallel surfaces. With readily available semiconductor manufacturing and lithographic tools, the wafers are processed into mirror plates with micrometer accuracy channel structures, yet maintaining the nanometer accurate figure of the silicon wafer. Multiple channeled X-ray mirrors shall subsequently be curved and stacked to form an optical component. We want to use such optical components for a ~3 m diameter segmented optical system that would be part of the Athena observatory.
Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) is a new X-ray optics technology under development in Europe, forming the ESA baseline technology for the International X-ray Observatory candidate mission studied jointly ...by ESA, NASA, and JAXA. With its matrix-like structure, made of monocrystalline-bonded Silicon mirrors, it can achieve the required angular resolution and low mass density required for future large X-ray observatories. Glass-based Micro Pore Optics (MPO) achieve modest angular resolution compared to SPO, but are even lighter and have achieved sufficient maturity level to be accepted as the X-ray optic technology for instruments on board the Bepi-Colombo mission, due to visit the planet Mercury. Opportunities for technology transfer to ground-based applications include material science, security and scanning equipment, and medical diagnostics. Pore X-ray optics combine high performance with modularity and economic industrial production processes, ensuring cost effective implementation.
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