Development and characterization of coatings on Silicon Pore Optics substrates for the ATHENA mission

We present description and results of the test campaign performed on Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) samples to be used on the ATHENA mission. We perform a pre-coating characterization of the substrates using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray Re ectometry (XRR) and scatter measurements. X-ray tests at DTU Space and correlation between measured roughness and pre-coating characterization are reported. For coating development, a layer of Cr was applied underneath the Ir/B4C bi-layer with the goal of reducing stress, and the use of N2 during the coating process was tested in order to reduce the surface roughness in the coatings. Both processes show promising results. Measurements of the coatings were carried out at the 8 keV X-ray facility at DTU Space and with synchrotron radiation in the laboratory of PTB at BESSY II to determine re ectivity at the grazing incidence angles and energies of ATHENA. Coating development also included a W/Si multilayer coating. We present preliminary results on X-ray Re ectometry and Cross-sectional Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) of the W/Si multilayer.