Electroforming replication technology at the Marshall Space Flight Center has a long heritage of producing high-quality, full-shell X-ray mirrors for various applications. Nickel alloys are electroformed onto a super-polished mandrel in the electroforming process and then separated to form the replicated full-shell optic. Various parameters in the electroplating configuration could result in the non-uniformity of the shell’s thickness. Thickness non-uniformities primarily occur due to the non-uniform electric field distribution in the electroforming tank during deposition. Using COMSOL Multiphysics simulations, we studied the electric field distributions during the deposition process. Using these studies, we optimized the electric field distribution and strength inside the tank using customized shields and insulating gaskets on the mandrel. These efforts reduced the thickness non-uniformity from over 20% to under 5%. Improving the thickness uniformity of the shell aids in better mounting and aligning shells in the optics module. Optimization of the electroforming process, in some cases, improved the optical performance of the shells. Using finite element modeling, we estimated the effect of electroforming stress on the figure errors of the replicated optics. We observed that the electroforming stress predominantly affects the figure toward the ends of the optics. We presented COMSOL optimization of the electroforming process and the experimental results validating these simulations. We also discuss modeling experimental results of the replication figure errors due to electroforming stresses.
Using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD), Zr films were deposited on silicon with laser wavelengths of 1064 nm and 532 nm, at substrate temperatures of 25 °C, 300 °C, and 500 °C, and fluences of 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 J/cm2. The 1064 nm wavelength yielded smoother films, with surface roughness growing at higher fluences. The 300 °C temperature was ideal for crystal quality. Analyses through XRD, SEM, and AFM showed unique morphologies due to laser variables. Computations using a thin film growth model matched the empirical data, underscoring the factors critical to Zr film deposition and guiding PLD optimization for superior film quality.
NASA / MSFC has made new full-shell NiCo replicated hard X-ray optics
for the fourth flight of the Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager
sounding rocket set to observe the sun in March 2023. The new FOXSI-4
high resolution optics were made using enhanced
mandrel polishing techniques incorporating a Zeeko CNC deterministic
polishing machine and an improved module assembly station with in-situ metrology.
FOXSI-4 will fly three new 2-meter focal length high
resolution mirror modules with two shells each. The previous FOXSI-3
optics achieved an angular resolution of 20 arcsec HPD (5 arcsec FWHM) for
ten-shell modules. Initial X-ray measurements of FOXSI-4 shells
before module integration show a performance of 8 arcsec HPD and 3
arcsec FWHM, a substantial improvement over the FOXSI-3 optics. We present the
advances made in the polishing, replication, and assembly processes, and
measurements of the performance of the completed modules taken in the
Marshall 100 meter X-ray beam line.
Technology for a large-area, high-angular resolution mirror module for a future Great Observatory x-ray mission is progressing along different paths. To date, none of these are fully developed. Work at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) seeks to leverage the benefits of full shell optics while exploring the limits of using shell replication technology for optics production. Here, we provide an updated accounting of spatial-resolution-constraining error terms to give context to recent improvements in MSFC replicated optics, as well as guidance and justification for current and future directions of research and development. Content includes straw-man error allocations for an optical system that is parametrically Lynx-like, where the replicated-optics technology stands relative to these allocations, and methodology for mapping development plans to efficiently identify the limiting factors, and approaches to overcoming these.
The High Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P) is a probe-class mission concept that combines high spatial resolution x-ray imaging and broad spectral coverage to enable revolutionary new insights into the important astrophysical questions of the next decade. HEX-P will fly a complement of two Hard Energy Mirror Assemblies (HEMA) and one Low Energy Mirror Assembly (LEMA), all of which will have a focal length of 20 meter. Ir/C has been chosen as the baseline coating for the LEMA, and a combination of Pt/C and W/Si multilayers for the HEMA. We present here the mirror design, optimization of coating recipes, and estimated performance.
NiC multilayers have been identified as a promising coating design for hard x-ray astrophysical imaging applications enabling bandpass extension beyond the Pt K-edge of approximately 78 keV. However, these coatings are difficult to deposit with low interfacial roughness below a bilayer thickness of about 35 Å. Utilizing a DC magnetron sputtering system, NiC multilayer of varying d-spacings are deposited on flat Si wafers and characterized using 8.048 keV x-ray reflectometry measurements. The residual coating stress is also measured using interferometry. We investigate how deposition parameters affect both the coating quality (i.e. surface/interfacial roughness, density, etc.) and the residual coating stress. From these experimental results conducted on flat substrates, we employ FEM and ray trace simulations to determine how NiC multilayer stress could impact the figure, and therefore performance, of full shell x-ray optics.
The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager 4 (FOXSI-4) is a heliophysics sounding rocket experiment that is currently in its fourth launch campaign. The payload is comprised of seven x-ray telescopes, which each consist of a 2 m focal length grazing incidence mirror module that focuses x-rays onto an imaging detector. For this fourth flight, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) designed, built, and tested three new high-angular-resolution mirror module assemblies (MMAs). This paper describes the design and assembly of the FOXSI-4 MMAs.
Core collapse supernovae are thought to be one of the main sources in the galaxy of elements heavier than iron. Understanding the origin of the elements is thus tightly linked to our understanding of the explosion mechanism of supernovae and supernova nucleosynthesis. X-ray and gamma-ray observations of young supernova remnants, combined with improved theoretical modeling, have resulted in enormous improvements in our knowledge of these events. The isotope Ti44 is one of the most sensitive probes of the innermost regions of the core collapse engine, and its spatial and velocity distribution are key observables. Hard x-ray imaging spectroscopy with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has provided new insights into the structure of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), establishing the convective nature of the supernova engine. However, many questions about the details of this engine remain. We present here the concept for a balloon-borne follow-up mission called A SuperConducting ENergetic x-ray Telescope (ASCENT). ASCENT uses transition edge sensor gamma-ray microcalorimeter detectors with a demonstrated 55-eV full-width half maximum energy resolution at 97 keV. This 8- to 16-fold improvement in energy resolution over NuSTAR will allow for high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy of the Ti44 emission. This will allow for a detailed reconstruction of gamma-ray line redshifts, widths, and shapes, allowing us to address questions such as, What is the source of the neutron star kicks? What is the dominant production pathway for Ti44? Is the engine of Cas A unique?
A direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering system has been developed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for depositing broadband x-ray optic multilayer coatings. The system has the capability to house up to four, 2-in.-diameter direct-cooled DC magnetron cathodes. The 2-in.-diameter cathodes facilitate low-cost, early stage research and development of various types of optical coatings. Despite the small target diameter, good coating uniformity on 4-in.-diameter substrates is demonstrated. Sources of both systematic and random error in the deposition of depth-graded multilayer coatings were identified and compensated for, resulting in the ability to deposit coating that required ∼7.5 h of total deposition time. Final verification of the system was concluded with the deposition of an NuSTAR W/Si depth-graded multilayer coating design (flight recipe 10).
A direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering system has been developed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) for depositing broadband X-ray optic multilayer coatings. The system has the capability to house up to four, 2-inch diameter direct-cooled DC magnetron cathodes. The relatively small dimensions of the cathodes facilitate low-cost, early stage research and development of various types of optical coatings while producing good coating uniformity across substrates that are twice the cathode diameter. Sources of non-repeatability in the deposition of depth-graded multilayer coatings were identified and compensated for, resulting in the ability to implement complex multilayer coating designs.
The High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P) is a probe-class next-generation high-energy X-ray mission concept that will vastly extend the reach of broadband X-ray observations. Studying the 2-200 keV energy range, HEXP has 40 times the sensitivity of any previous mission in the 10-80 keV band, and will be the first focusing instrument in the 80-200 keV band. A successor to the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), a NASA Small Explorer launched in 2012, HEX-P addresses key NASA science objectives, and will serve as an important complement to ESA’s L-class Athena mission. HEX-P will utilize multilayer coated X-ray optics, and in this paper we present the details of the optical design, and discuss the multilayer prescriptions necessary for the reflection of hard X-ray photons. We consider multiple module designs with the aim of investigating the tradeoff between high- and low-energy effective area, and review the technology development necessary to reach that goal within the next decade.
In this work, we describe the development of multilayer coating capabilities of the X-ray astronomy group at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). A DC magnetron sputtering system has been constructed to deposit periodic, depth-graded and aperiodic multilayer coatings on flat silicon and glass substrates of various diameters. The main goal of this new area of research at MSFC is the development of coatings for use on future hard X-ray astronomical telescopes, extending the reflected energy range into the hard X-ray to soft gamma ray band. Descriptions of the system geometry and calibration process as well as initial results from the first few months of deposition and coating recipe optimization are presented.
We present in-situ stress measurement results for single and multilayer thin-films deposited by magnetron sputtering. In particular, we report on the influence of the material interfaces on the ensuing stress in both the transient and steady-state regimes of film growth. This behavior is used to determine the appropriate thicknesses of the constituent layers that will result in a net tensile stress in multilayers composed of various material combinations. These multilayers can then be used to compensate the compressive integrated stress in single and multilayer EUV and x-ray optical coatings. The use of multilayers to compensate the integrated stress might be advantageous because, unlike single layers of chromium, the roughness is not expected to increase with the total thickness of the multilayer. In this paper, we demonstrate the technique for W/Si and Mo/Si multilayers and discuss its application to other material combinations.
We have developed an X-ray reflectometer (XRR) system for the characterization of various soft and hard X-ray optic coatings being developed at Marshall Space Flight Center. The XRR system generates X-ray radiation with a highoutput Rigaku rotating anode source (RAS), operational at a voltage range of 5 – 35 kV, a current range of 10-150 mA. A series of precision slits, adjustable down to approximately 25 micrometers, positioned in the beam path limit the extent of the x-ray beam and control the resolution of the XRR measurement while a goniometer consisting of two precision rotary stages controls the angular position of the coating sample and X-ray detector with respect to the beam. With the high count rate capability of the RAS, a very-high-speed silicon drift detector, the Amptek Fast Silicon Drift Detector (SDD), is implemented to achieve good count rate efficiency and improve reflectivity measurements of coatings at larger graze angles. The coating sample can be adjusted using a series of linear and tipping stages to perfectly align the center of the sample with the center of the incident X-ray beam. These stages in conjunction with the goniometer components are integrated through original control software resulting in full automation of the XRR system. We will show some initial XRR measurements of both single and multilayer coatings made with this system. These results and future measurements are used to characterize potential X-ray optic coatings culminating in the production of highly reflective coatings operational at a large range of X-ray energies.
We examine a method for achieving zero intrinsic stress in thin films of iridium, chromium, and nickel deposited by magnetron sputter deposition. The examination of the stress in these materials is motivated by efforts to advance the optical performance of light-weight x-ray space telescopes into the regime of sub-arc second resolution. A characteristic feature of the intrinsic stress behavior in chromium and nickel is their sensitivity to the magnitude and sign of the intrinsic stress with argon gas pressure, including the existence of a critical pressure that results in zero film stress. This critical pressure scales linearly with the film’s density. While the effect of stress reversal with argon pressure has been previously reported by Hoffman and others for nickel and chromium, we have discovered a similar behavior for the intrinsic stress in iridium films. Additionally, we have identified zero stress in iridium shortly after island coalescence in the high adatom mobility growth regime. This feature of film growth is used for achieving a total internal stress of -2.89 MPa for a 15.8 nm thick iridium film with a surface roughness of 5.0 ± 0.5Å based on x-ray reflectivity (XRR) measurement at CuKα. The surface topography was also examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The examination of the stress in these films has been performed with a novel in-situ measurement device. The methodology and sensitivity of the in-situ instrument is also described herein.
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