A hard X-ray telescope with multilayered supermirrors for balloon observations of cosmic X-ray sources

• Published in: Advances in space research Vol. 30; no. 5; pp. 1313 - 1319
• Main Authors: Tawara, Y., Yamashita, K., Ogasaka, Y., Tamura, K., Haga, K., Okajima, T., Ichimaru, S., Takahashi, S., Gotou, A., Kitou, H., Fukuda, S., Tsusaka, Y., Kunieida, H., Tueller, J., Serlemitsos, P.J., Soong, Y., Chan, K.W., Owens, S.M., Barber, B., Dereniak, E., Young, E.E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2002
• ISSN: 0273-1177; 1879-1948
• DOI: 10.1016/S0273-1177(02)00548-3

We have been developing a hard X-ray telescope utilizing multilayer supermirrors. The international focusing optics collaboration for μ-Crab sensitivity (InFOCμS) project is for balloon observations of cosmic hard X-ray sky with this new type of telescope. For the first flight scheduled in the next summer, we are preparing one full telescope with outermost diameter of 40 cm, focal length of 8 m, and energy band witgh of 20 – 40 keV as a first step. At the focal plane a CdZnTe imaging detector will be prepared. In this paper, the science objectives of this project, current status of the development of gondola, X-ray telescope and hard x-ray detector, and expected performance are described.