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. Here we report the development of a stacked prism lens (SPL), which is lightweight and modular and has the potential for a significant improvement in effective area, while retaining high angular resolution. The proposed optics are built by stacking disks embedded with prismatic rings, created with photoresist by focused ultraviolet lithography. We demonstrate the SPL approach using a prototype lens that 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 with contemporary missions.
Subscribe to Journal
Get full journal access for 1 year
only $8.25 per issue
All prices are NET prices.
VAT will be added later in the checkout.
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.
Rent or Buy article
Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.
All prices are NET prices.
The data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Karouzos, M. X-ray astronomy: black holes in the sky with Chandra. Nat. Astron. 1, 0046 (2017).
Gorenstein, P. Focusing X-ray optics for astronomy. X-Ray Opt. Instrum. 2010, 109740 (2010).
Weisskopf, M. C., Tananbaum, H. D., Van Speybroeck, L. P. & O’Dell, S. L. Chandra X-ray observatory (CXO): overview. Proc. SPIE 4012, 2–17 (2000).
Jansen, F. et al. XMM-Newton observatory—I. The spacecraft and operations. Astron. Astrophys. 365, L1–L6 (2001).
Gehrels, N. et al. The Swift gamma-ray burst mission. Astrophys. J. 611, 1005–1020 (2004).
Nandra, K. et al. The hot and energetic universe: a white paper presenting the science theme motivating the Athena+ mission. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/1306.2307v1 (2013).
Koglin, J. E. et al. NuSTAR hard X-ray optics design and performance. Proc. SPIE 7437, 74370C (2004).
Koglin, J. E. et al. Development and production of hard X-ray multilayer optics for HEFT. Proc. SPIE 4851, 607–619 (2003).
Harrison, F. A. et al. The nuclear spectroscopic telescope array (NuSTAR) high-energy X-ray mission. Astrophys. J. 770, 103–122 (2013).
Takahashi, T. et al. The ASTRO-H X-ray. Obs. Proc. SPIE 8443, 84431Z (2012).
Awaki, H. et al. The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) hard X-ray telescope (HXT): current status of calibration. Proc. SPIE 10399, 103990R (2017).
Cederström, B., Cahn, R. N., Danielsson, M., Lundqvist, M. & Nygren, D. R. Focusing hard X-rays with old LPs. Nature 404, 951 (2000).
Snigirev, A., Kohn, V., Snigireva, I. & Lengeler, B. A compound refractive lens for focusing high-energy X-rays. Nature 384, 49–51 (1996).
Chang, C. & Sakdinawat, A. Ultra-high aspect ratio high-resolution nanofabrication for hard X-ray diffractive optics. Nat. Commun. 5, 4243 (2014).
Sakdinawat, A. & Attwood, D. Nanoscale X-ray imaging. Nat. Photon. 4, 840–848 (2010).
Chao, W., Harteneck, B. D., Liddle, J. A., Anderson, E. H. & Attwood, D. T. Soft X-ray microscopy at a spatial resolution better than 15 nm. Nature 435, 1210–1213 (2005).
Di Fabrizio, E. et al. High-efficiency multilevel zone plates for keV X-rays. Nature 401, 895–898 (1999).
Schneider, G. et al. Three-dimensional cellular ultrastructure resolved by X-ray microscopy. Nat. Methods 7, 985–987 (2010).
Shapiro, D. A. et al. Chemical composition mapping with nanometre resolution by soft X-ray microscopy. Nat. Photon. 8, 765–769 (2014).
Leontowich, A. F. & Hitchcock, A. P. Zone plate focused soft X-ray lithography. Appl. Phys. A 103, 1–11 (2011).
Larciprete, R. et al. Direct writing of fluorescent patterns on LiF films by X-ray microprobe. Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 3862–3864 (2002).
Keskinbora, K. et al. Multilayer Fresnel zone plates for high energy radiation resolve 21 nm features at 1.2 keV. Opt. Express 22, 18440–18453 (2014).
Kang, H. C. et al. Focusing of hard X-rays to 16 nanometers with a multilayer Laue lens. Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 221114 (2008).
Huang, X. et al. 11 nm hard X-ray focus from a large-aperture multilayer Laue lens. Sci. Rep. 3, 3562 (2013).
Kang, H. et al. Nanometer linear focusing of hard X rays by a multilayer Laue lens. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 127401 (2006).
Mohacsi, I. et al. Interlaced zone plate optics for hard X-ray imaging in the 10 nm range. Sci. Rep. 7, 43624 (2017).
Maser, J. et al. Near-field stacking of zone plates for hard X-ray range. Proc. SPIE 4783, 74–82 (2002).
Skinner, G. Diffractive-refractive optics for high energy astronomy—I. Gamma-ray phase Fresnel lenses. Astron. Astrophys. 375, 691–700 (2001).
Skinner, G. K. Diffractive-refractive optics for high energy astronomy—II. Variations on the theme. Astron. Astrophys. 383, 352–359 (2002).
Skinner, G. et al. The milli-arc-second structure imager (MASSIM): a new concept for a high angular resolution X-ray telescope. Proc. SPIE 7011, 70110T (2008).
Braig, C. & Predehl, P. Fresnel lens arrays for X-ray imaging spectroscopy. Proc. SPIE 7732, 77322N (2010).
Braig, C. & Predehl, P. Multiband imaging with Fresnel X-ray telescopes. Proc. SPIE 7732, 77322M (2010).
Mi, W., Karlsson, S., Holmberg, A., Danielsson, M. & Nillius, P. Fabrication of circular sawtooth gratings using focused UV lithography. J. Micromech. Microeng. 26, 035001 (2016).
Cederström, B., Ribbing, C. & Lundqvist, M. Generalized prism-array lenses for hard X-rays. J. Synchrotron Radiat. 12, 340–344 (2005).
Jark, W. et al. Focusing X-rays with simple arrays of prism-like structures. J. Synchrotron Radiat. 11, 248–253 (2004).
Nillius, P., Karlsson, S., Cederström, B., Fredenberg, E. & Danielsson, M. Large-aperture focusing of high-energy X rays with a rolled polyimide film. Opt. Lett. 36, 555–557 (2011).
Jark, W., Matteucci, M., Menk, R., Rigon, L. & De Caro, L. The role of spatial coherence, diffraction and refraction in the focusing of X-rays with prism arrays of the Clessidra type. Proc. SPIE 7077, 70771× (2008).
Mi, W. & Nillius, P. Efficient proximity effect correction method based on multivariate adaptive regression splines for grayscale e-beam lithography. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 32, 031602 (2014).
Fossum, E. R. CMOS image sensors: electronic camera-on-a-chip. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 44, 1689–1698 (1997).
Soltau, H. et al. Fabrication, test and performance of very large X-ray CCDs designed for astrophysical applications. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 439, 547–559 (2000).
Skinner, G. K. Design and imaging performance of achromatic diffractive–refractive X-ray and gamma-ray Fresnel lenses. Appl. Opt. 43, 4845–4853 (2004).
Wang, Y., Yun, W. & Jacobsen, C. Achromatic Fresnel optics for wideband extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray imaging. Nature 424, 50–53 (2003).
Marschall, F. et al. X-ray full field microscopy at 30 keV. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 499, 012007 (2014).
Tibbelin, S., Nillius, P. & Danielsson, M. Simulation of HyperSPECT: a high-resolution small-animal system with in-line X-ray optics. Phys. Med. Biol. 57, 1617–1629 (2012).
Cederström, B. A Multi-prism Lens for Hard X-rays. PhD thesis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (2002).
Nillius, P. Geometric scattering in prism-array lenses for hard X-rays: measurements, simulations and models. AIP Conf. Proc. 1437, 111–115 (2012).
Lengeler, B. et al. Imaging by parabolic refractive lenses in the hard X-ray range. J. Synchrotron Radiat. 6, 1153–1167 (1999).
We thank the KTH nanolab for access to the fabrication devices and support during fabrication. We acknowledge the Diamond Light Source for provision of synchrotron radiation facilities and express our thanks to O. Fox and K. Sawhney for assistance in applying and using beamline B16. We thank C. Xu and S. Karlsson for taking part in the experiment at the Diamond Light Source, C. Svensson for the detector design and power calculation and L. Mi for X-ray telescope concept drawing. W.M and M.D. acknowledge funding from Stiftelsen Olle Engkvist Byggmästare. M.P. acknowledges funding received from the Swedish Research Council (grant number 2016-04929).
The authors declare no competing interests.
Peer review information: Nature Astronomy thanks Ralf Heilmann, Julia Vogel and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
About this article
Cite this article
Mi, W., Nillius, P., Pearce, M. et al. A stacked prism lens concept for next-generation hard X-ray telescopes. Nat Astron 3, 867–872 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0795-y