Adjustable x-ray mirrors based on plastic electroactive polymer actuators for the Lynx mission

Abstract

The Lynx next-generation soft X-ray telescope is being proposed to significantly increase the effective area of Chandra while keeping sub-arcsecond imaging resolution. To produce the necessary optics, we propose to build and test a novel class of low-voltage thin-film actuators based on electroactive polymers to address the need for adjustable mirror control in future high-resolution X-ray missions such as Lynx. Electroactive polymers can produce high strains at low voltages, being able to correct the deformations that submillimeter-thick mirror shells will experience in future X-ray missions. Fabrication of polymer-based thin films is a low-cost, scalable technology that can be easily translated to production by industrial partners. With processing temperatures below 140°C, electroactive polymer films can be deposited on glass mirror substrates without risk of introducing additional slumping errors. With the high imaging resolution enabled by our proposed mirror correction technology, Lynx will be capable of detecting the first accreting black holes, study the evolution of galaxies and growth of cosmic structure, and verify the existence of a Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) that could account for the large fraction of missing baryonic matter in the Universe.