Global optimization of X-ray multilayer mirrors with iterated simplex method

摘要

X rays focusing telescopes, composed of several Wolter I nested mirror shells reflecting at grazing incidence, are commonly employed only in the soft x-rays band (below 10 keV). At higher energies only direct view detectors (with low or not at all imaging capabilities) have been operative so far. The use of multilayer coatings on Wolter I mirrors can be a suitable way to realize focusing optics operating at higher energies (10 - 100 keV). A procedure based on an iterated simplex numerical method has been developed in order to get a global optimization of the multilayer reflectors sequences that will be applied for this kind of hard X-ray focusing telescopes. In particular, the specific case of the multilayer optimization for the optics of some future X-ray missions has been investigated.