Characterizing x-ray optics for OGRE and its Pathfinder mission

The PANTER X-ray Test facility is a 130m long vacuum tube utilized to produce forefront characterization of next generation X-ray optics. We present results from a PANTER campaign to characterize high-resolution X-ray technology including mono-crystalline silicon optics which have planned use on several proposed NASA X-ray Explorer and Probe missions, as well as off-plane reflection gratings which serve as an option to achieve the spectral resolution requirements of a Lynx-like flagship mission. Additionally, the second flight module of the Joint European Telescope for X-ray astronomy (JET-X FM2) was re-tested to follow up on a prior characterization study of the instrument at the same facility. This campaign demonstrates near-equivalent performance measurements of the JET-X optic after a decade of storage, while also demonstrating the ability of mono-crystalline silicon mirrors and aberration correcting, blazed reflection gratings. Results confirm the high-resolution performance of polished silicon optics as well as the high-resolution, high-efficiency performance of the diffraction gratings.