Abstract

The development of new XUV and x-ray optics has important applications in a wide variety of scientific fields, including x-ray astronomy, laboratory plasma diagnostics, and synchrotron radiation instrumentation. We are presently involved in ongoing research programs in soft x-ray imaging of astrophysical sources; in this context, the important design goals of imaging optics are both spatially resolved dispersive spectroscopy as well as very high angular resolution imaging in and of itself. Typical state-of-the-art soft x-ray imaging using grazing incidence optics can attain angular resolution of order 0.5 seconds of arc. With the kind of instrumentation here envisaged, it appears that an order of magnitude improvement is feasible immediately [1] and attainment of .01-.005 seconds of arc seems to be within reach.

© 1984 Optical Society of America