Large-aperture high-resolution x-ray collimator for the Solar Maximum Mission

Area of Science:

• X-ray optics and instrumentation
• Solar physics and space-based astronomy

Background:

• Development of advanced X-ray collimators is crucial for high-resolution solar spectroscopy.
• The Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) required precise X-ray optics for its flat crystal spectrometer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the design, construction, and performance of a flight-qualified multigrid X-ray collimator.
• To achieve a 12 x 12-arcsec angular resolution for X-ray wavelengths between 1.4-22.4 Å.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an optical bench/metering structure for aligning prealigned grid subassemblies.
• Employed a compound, bimetallic grid design with gold apertures supported by Invar grids.
• Incorporated a two-layer aluminum thermal filter for solar heating protection.

Main Results:

• Achieved an average angular resolution of 12.5-arcsec FWHM for large channels and 12.0-arcsec for small channels.
• Measured transmission rates of 0.259 for large channels and 0.200 for small channels.
• Successfully passed a protoflight acoustic test environment (147-dB).

Conclusions:

• The developed multigrid X-ray collimator meets flight qualification requirements for the SMM.
• The design offers a viable solution for high-resolution X-ray observation in space applications.
• The accessible design facilitates inspection and servicing of grid subassemblies.