Fast and Scalable Production of Stacked Prism X-ray Lenses for Astrophysics Using Two-Photon Polymerization

Abstract

Stacked prism lenses (SPLs) are a type of refractive X-ray optics currently under development with the potential to greatly improve on current X-ray telescope optics in terms of focal length, angular resolution, efficiency and scalability. For this work, SPLs are manufactured using two-photon polymerization (2PP), with production being significantly faster and with higher geometric fidelity than previous methods. Preliminary laboratory tests show improved efficiency compared to previous manufacturing methods and promising optical capabilities. Two-photon polymerization is shown to be a reliable method for producing SPLs, and when challenges around printing time and assembly are addressed, the path towards an SPL X-ray telescope lies open.