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The VERT-X X-ray calibration facility, currently in prototypal realization phase supported by ESA, will be a vertical X-ray beamline able to test and calibrate the entire optical assembly of the ATHENA X-ray telescope. Owing to its long focal length (12 m), a full-illumination test of the entire focusing system would require a parallel and uniform X-ray beam as large as the optical assembly itself (2.5 m). Moreover, the module should better be laid parallel to the ground in order to minimize the effects of gravity deformations. Therefore, the ideal calibration facility would consist of a vertical beam, with the source placed at very large distance (>> 500 m) under high vacuum (10-6 mbar). Since such calibration systems do not exist, and also appear to be very hard to manufacture, VERT-X will be based on a different concept, i.e., the raster scan of a tightly (≈ 1 arcsec) collimated X-ray beam, generated by a microfocus source and made parallel via a precisely shaped Wolter-I mirror. In this design, the mirror will be made of two segments (paraboloid + hyperboloid) that, for the X-ray beam collimation to be preserved, will have to be accurately finished and maintain their mutual alignment to high accuracy during the scan. In this paper, we show simulations of the reflected wavefront based on physical optics and the expected final imaging quality, for different polishing levels and misalignments for the two segments of the VERT-X collimator.

The ATHENA X-ray telescope will be the largest X-ray optics ever built. The ground calibration of this mirror assembly raises significant difficulties due to its unprecedented size, mass and focal length. The VERT-X project aims at developing an innovative calibration system which will be able to accomplish to this extremely challenging task.The design is based on an X-ray parallel beam produced by an X-ray source positioned in the focus of a highly performing X-ray collimator; the beam will be accurately moved by a raster-scan mechanism covering all the ATHENA optics at different off-axis angles. The main driving factor in the VERT-X design is the ATHENA calibration requirement on the accuracy in the HEW measure which is 0.1”, all over the field of view. The VERT-X project, started in January 2019, is financed by ESA and conducted by a consortium that includes INAF together with EIE, Media Lario, BCV Progetti and GPAP.

ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics) is the next high-energy astrophysical mission of the European Space Agency currently planned to be launched in the early 2030s, as part of its Cosmic Vision program, on the scientific topic of “Hot and Energetic Universe”. The optics technology is based on the Silicon Pore Optics (SPO). About 678 SPO mirror modules will have to be integrated and co-aligned onto the optical bench of the Mirror Assembly Module (MAM) of ATHENA. This activity will have to be completed in about two years. Media Lario leads an industrial and scientific team that has developed the process to align and integrate the SPO Mirror module with an accuracy better than 1 arcsec. The process is based on position of the centroid of the point spread function produced by each mirror module when illuminated by a collimated planewave at 218 nm taken at 12 m focal length. Experimental tests, using two SPO mirror modules, and correlation with X-ray measurement at the PANTER test facility in Munich have demonstrated that this process meets the accuracy requirement. It was also demonstrated, that a mirror module can be removed again from the MAM, and re-installed, without compromising the adjacent mirror modules. This technique allows arbitrary integration sequence and integration of two Mirror Modules per day. Moreover, it enables monitoring the telescope point spread function during the whole integration phase.

The ATHENA X-ray observatory is a large-class ESA approved mission, with launch scheduled in 2028. The technology of Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) was selected since 2004 as the baseline for making the X-ray Mirror Assembly. Up to 700 mirror modules to obtain a nested Wolter like optics. The maximum diameter of the shells will be 2.5 m while the focal length is 12 m. The requirements for on-axis angular resolution and effective area at 1 keV are 5 arcsec HEW and 1.4 m2, while the field of view will be 40 arcmin in diameter (50 % vignetting). While in this moment there an on-going effort aiming at demonstrating the feasibility of a so large optics with so stringent scientific requirements, an important aspect to be considered regards the scientific calibrations of the X-ray optics. In this respect, the Point Spread Function and effective area have to be correctly measured and calibrated on-ground at different energies across the entire field of view, with a low vignetting. The approach considered so far foresees the use of a long (several hundreds of meters) facility to allow a full illumination with low divergence of the entire optics module (or at least of large sections of it). The implementation of similar configurations in a completely new facility to be realized in Europe (friendly called "super Panter") or the retrofitting existing facilities like the XRCF at NASA/MSFC are being considered. In both cases the costs and the programmatic risks related to the implementation of these huge facilities, with their special jigs for the alignment of the ATHENA optics, represent important aspects to be considered. Moreover, the horizontal position of the optics to be used in full illumination facilities would determine gravitational deformations, not easy to be removed with actuators or by modeling. In this talk we will discuss a completely different concept, based on the mount of the optics in vertical position and the use of a raster scan of the ATHENA optics with a small (a few cm2 wide) highly collimated (1 arcsec or so) white beam X-ray. This system will allow us to operate a much compact system. The use of a vertical configuration will imply smaller gravitational deformations, that can be controlled with actuators able to compensate them. A proper camera system with a sufficient energy resolution will be able to grant a correct measurement of both PSF and effective area of the Mirror Assembly within the calibration requirements and in a reasonable integration time. Moreover, it may allow us also to perform end-to-end tests using the two flight focal plane instruments of ATHENA. The cost and risks for the implementation would be much lower than for the full illumination systems. The conceptual configuration and preliminary expected performance of the facility will be discussed.

ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics) is the next high-energy astrophysical mission of the European Space Agency. Media Lario leads an industrial and scientific team that has developed a process to align and integrate more than 700 silicon pore optics mirror modules into the ATHENA X-ray telescope. The process is based on the ultra-violet imaging at 218 nm of each mirror module on the focal plane of a 12 m focal length optical bench. Specifically, the position of the centroid of the point spread function produced by each mirror module when illuminated by a collimated plane is used to align each mirror module. Experimental integration tests and correlation with X-ray measurement at the PANTER test facility in Munich have demonstrated that this process meets the accuracy requirement. This technique allows arbitrary integration sequence and mirror module exchangeability. Moreover, it enables monitoring the telescope point spread function during the integration phase.

A lightweight single-aperture and multi-spectral sensor operating from Visible to LWIR has been designed, manufactured and tested exploiting a Three Mirror Anastigmat (TMA) telescope featuring thin free-form mirrors electroformed from negative masters. Manufacturing complexity is in place only for the master realization, the contribution of which to the sensor cost decreases with the number of replicas. The TMA, suitable for airborne surveillance applications, has F/no. 1.4, focal length 136 mm and field of view 4.3° × 3.1°, and provides two channels, in the MWIR-LWIR and in the visible waveband. The nominal contrast is better than 75% in the visible at 25 cycles/mm. Electroformed 1 mm thick mirrors keep the sensor mass below 3 kg. Stray light and thermo-structural design has been done to comply with airborne conditions.

The design and optimization of nested grazing incidence collectors for extreme ultra-violet lithography is discussed taking into account the boundary conditions set by optical, mechanical, thermal, and manufacturing requirements. The trend of the collection efficiency as a function of numerical the aperture at the intermediate focus, the source-optics distance and the focal length is presented. The effect of the thickness of the mirrors on the optical performance and stability under thermal load is also discussed as a specific example involving optical, thermal and manufacturing issues. As an introduction to the discussion of the design and optimization of the collector, a theoretical maximum limit for the collection efficiency is studied as a function of collected solid angle and system etendue.

Massimiliano RossiGiuseppe BorghiMedia Lario TechnologiesLocalita PascoloI-23842 Bosisio Parini (LC), ItalyIain A. NeilScotOptixChemin du Martinet 4CCH-1291 Commugny (Vaud), SwitzerlandGiuseppe ValsecchiPaolo ZagoFabio E. ZocchiMedia Lario TechnologiesLocalita PascoloI-23842 Bosisio Parini (LC), ItalyE-mail: fabio.zocchi@media-lario.comAbstract. A lightweight, single-aperture, and multispectral imaging sys-tem operating from visible to long wavelength infrared has been manufac-tured and tested based on an innovative three-mirror anastigmat opticaldesign. The complex off-axis aspherical toroidal mirrors of the opticshave been obtained by electroforming replication from masters havinga shape opposite to the mirror shape and manufactured as stand-aloneparts by using five-axis single-point diamond turning. The technology isextendible to full free-form optics without any process modificationenabling affordability of complex optics since multiple identical copies ofthe mirrors can be produced from each master. Moreover, thin (∼1 mm)electroformed mirrors keep the imaging system mass less than 3 kg. Withan effective focal length of 136 mm, the system is suitable for airbornesurveillance applications and provides a full aperture F∕ of 1.4, a fieldof view of 4.3×3.1 deg, and a nominal contrast better than 75% in thevisible waveband at 25 cycles∕mm. A beam splitter can be accommo-dated to provide two separated channels for two or more spectral wave-bands. Stray light and thermostructural design has been performed tocomply with airborne applications. Experimental results demonstratethe feasibility of the technology, although process improvements arerequired to reach the extremely demanding theoretical performance ofthe optical design.