Multilayer coated thin foil mirrors for InFOCμS

The ability of periodic and aperiodic multialyer structures to diffract x-rays at grazing angles has long been understood, and has been successfully exploited in the x-ray region, primarily on flat substrates. We have recently begun producing Pt/C multilayer coated thin foil mirrors for the InFOC mu S balloon mission. The mirrors are made by depositing the multilayer on glass mandrels and transferring the multilayer to the thin foil substrates using a replication process similar to that used for production of the recently lost ASTRO-E mirrors. Both periodic and broadband versions have been successfully replicated onto thin foils and characterized by grazing incidence x-ray scattering. Initial comparisons between mirrors deposited on flat float glass substrates and mirrors replicated onto thin foils indicate that the reflection properties of the multilayer are not damaged by the transfer from mandrel to foil. We describe the production and characterization facilities that have been developed in our lab, and the performance of our multilayer mirrors, with particular emphasis on the characterization of interfaces in the Pt/C system.