X-ray study of a test quadrant of the SODART telescopes using the expanded beam x-ray optics facility at the Daresbury synchrotron

The imaging properties of a test model of the SODART telescopes have been studied using an expanded beam X-ray facility at the Daresbury synchrotron. The encircled power and the point spread function at three energies 6.627 keV, 8.837 keV and 11.046 keV have been measured using 1D and 2D position sensitive detectors. The data have been used to calculate the Half Power Diameter (HPD) for three different SODART focal plane detectors. The High Energy Proportional Counter (HEPC), the Low Energy Proportional Counter (LEPC) and the 19 element solid state array detector (SIXA). At 6.627 keV and 8.837 keV the HPD is 2.5 - 3.0 arcmin for all detectors whereas it is somewhat larger at 11.046 keV for HEPC and LEPC but essentially unchanged for SIXA. Finally, the data are used to point to improvements that can be introduced during the manufacture of the flight telescopes.