Use of ceramic materials for light weight x-ray optics

摘要

Nowadays the most used technology to obtain thin and light mirror shells for x-ray optics is the replica techniquenby nickel electroforming. This technology has been successfully employed for projects like SAX, JET-X andnXMM.nNevertheless, the high density of the nickel poses some limitations to the possibility of extending the use of thisntechnology for the future x-ray missions demanding high collecting area, good angular resolution and low weightnof the optics.nIn the paper we analyse which are the present limits of the nickel electroforming technology and we underline thenpotentiality of using SiC and other ceramic materials for the manufacture of large and light x-ray optics.nPossible manufacturing process are proposed and preliminary results of prototypes of ceramic mirror shells arenpresented.