Fabricating sub-collimating grids for an x-ray solar imaging spectrometer using LIGA techniques
- Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA (United States); and others
The HESSI mission proposes to perform high resolution imaging and spectroscopy observations in the soft X-ray, hard X-ray, and gamma-ray regimes, with finer angular resolution (nearly 2 arcseconds) and finer energy resolution (approximately 1 keV) than has been previously possible. This combination of imaging and spectroscopy is achieved with a set of Rotating Modulation Collimators placed in front of an array of cooled germanium and silicon detectors. A set of 12 bi-grid collimators, each of which consists of a pair of identically pitched, widely-separated grids, is used to provide the imaging. Each grid consists of a planar array of equally-spaced, parallel, X-ray opaque slats separated by X-ray transparent slits. If the slits of each grid are parallel to each other and the pitch is identical for the two grids, then the transmission through the grid pair depends on the direction of incidence of the incoming X-rays. For slits and slats of equal width, the transmission varies between zero and 50% depending on whether the shadows of the slats in the top grid fall on the slits or slats of the lower grid. A complete transmission cycle from zero to 50% and back to zero corresponds to a change in source direction that is given by p/L, where L is the separation between the grids. The authors describe a deep etch lithography technique developed to fabricate the grids which have pitches below 100 {micro}m. They use a free standing sheet of PMMA as a base for the process, and use the ALS facility to perform the exposures of the PMMA.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 603702
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL--39981; ON: DE97007345
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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