<title>Enhanced EUV performance of Wolter type II telescopes</title>

Abstract

This analysis of the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) performance of Wolter type II telescopes as degraded by state-of-the-art optical fabrication errors is motivated by NASA's upcoming Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) mission. The primary goal of the FUSE mission is to perform high resolution spectroscopy in the spectral range of 912 angstroms - 1200 angstroms. The optical performance of the FUSE telescope will degrade drastically toward the EUV and of the spectrum. This image degradation is caused by the scattering effects of residual surface irregularities inherent in the optical fabrication process. NASA's Optical Surface Analysis Code is used to parametrically model the image degradation due to optical fabrication errors over the entire range of relevant spatial frequencies and allows us to determine the optical fabrication tolerances necessary to achieve improved performance in the EUV.