A toolkit for the X-ray optics simulation software package XOP/ShadowVui

The McXtrace AstroX toolbox: a general ray tracing software package for end to end simulation of x-ray optics for astronomical instrumentation

Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray ◽

10.1117/12.2312272 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Erik B. Knudsen ◽

Desiree Della Monica Ferreira ◽

Niels Jørgen Westergaard ◽

Sonny Massahi ◽

Finn E. Christensen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ray Tracing ◽

Software Package ◽

Astronomical Instrumentation ◽

Ray Optics ◽

X Ray ◽

End To End

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SIXTE: a generic X-ray instrument simulation toolkit

Astronomy and Astrophysics ◽

10.1051/0004-6361/201935978 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 630 ◽

pp. A66 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Thomas Dauser ◽

Sebastian Falkner ◽

Maximilian Lorenz ◽

Christian Kirsch ◽

Philippe Peille ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Software Package ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Transition Edge Sensor ◽

Galaxy Cluster ◽

Simulation Software ◽

Modular Approach ◽

Astronomical Instrumentation ◽

X Ray ◽

Detection Process ◽

Pile Up

We give an overview of the SImulation of X-ray TElescopes (SIXTE) software package, a generic, mission-independent Monte Carlo simulation toolkit for X-ray astronomical instrumentation. The package is based on a modular approach for the source definition, the description of the optics, and the detector type such that new missions can be easily implemented. The targets to be simulated are stored in a flexible input format called SIMPUT. Based on this source definition, a sample of photons is produced and then propagated through the optics. In order to model the detection process, the software toolkit contains modules for various detector types, ranging from proportional counter and Si-based detectors, to more complex descriptions like transition edge sensor (TES) devices. The implementation of characteristic detector effects and a detailed modeling of the read-out process allow for representative simulations and therefore enable the analysis of characteristic features, such as for example pile-up, and their impact on observations. We present an overview of the implementation of SIXTE from the input source, the imaging, and the detection process, highlighting the modular approach taken by the SIXTE software package. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the simulation software, we present a selection of representative applications, including the all-sky survey of eROSITA and a study of pile-up effects comparing the currently operating XMM-Newton with the planned Athena-WFI instrument. A simulation of a galaxy cluster with the Athena-X-IFU shows the capability of SIXTE to predict the expected performance of an observation for a complex source with a spatially varying spectrum and our current knowledge of the future instrument.

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Computer programs for the calculation of x-ray intensities emitted by elements in multi-layer structures

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100134685 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 216-217

Author(s):

G.F. Bastin ◽

H.J.M. Heijligers ◽

J.M. Dijkstra

Keyword(s):

Software Package ◽

Light Element ◽

Matrix Correction ◽

Excellent Performance ◽

Element Analysis ◽

X Ray ◽

Know How ◽

Accurate Knowledge ◽

Layer Structures ◽

Bulk Matrix

For the calculation of X-ray intensities emitted by elements present in multi-layer systems it is vital to have an accurate knowledge of the x-ray ionization vs. mass-depth (ϕ(ρz)) curves as a function of accelerating voltage and atomic number of films and substrate. Once this knowledge is available the way is open to the analysis of thin films in which both the thicknesses as well as the compositions can usually be determined simultaneously.Our bulk matrix correction “PROZA” with its proven excellent performance for a wide variety of applications (e.g., ultra-light element analysis, extremes in accelerating voltage) has been used as the basis for the development of the software package discussed here. The PROZA program is based on our own modifications of the surface-centred Gaussian ϕ(ρz) model, originally introduced by Packwood and Brown. For its extension towards thin film applications it is required to know how the 4 Gaussian parameters α, β, γ and ϕ(o) for each element in each of the films are affected by the film thickness and the presence of other layers and the substrate.

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X-ray microprobe for materials science

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100168013 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 56-57

Author(s):

G.E. Ice

Keyword(s):

Crystallographic Orientation ◽

Local Structure ◽

Materials Science ◽

Chemical Information ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Ray Optics ◽

X Ray ◽

Novel Materials ◽

New Information ◽

Elemental Sensitivity

The increasing availability of synchrotron x-ray sources has stimulated the development of advanced hard x-ray (E≥5 keV) microprobes. With new x-ray optics these microprobes can achieve micron and submicron spatial resolutions. The inherent elemental and crystallographic sensitivity of an x-ray microprobe and its inherently nondestructive and penetrating nature will have important applications to materials science. For example, x-ray fluorescent microanalysis of materials can reveal elemental distributions with greater sensitivity than alternative nondestructive probes. In materials, segregation and nonuniform distributions are the rule rather than the exception. Common interfaces to whichsegregation occurs are surfaces, grain and precipitate boundaries, dislocations, and surfaces formed by defects such as vacancy and interstitial configurations. In addition to chemical information, an x-ray diffraction microprobe can reveal the local structure of a material by detecting its phase, crystallographic orientation and strain.Demonstration experiments have already exploited the penetrating nature of an x-ray microprobe and its inherent elemental sensitivity to provide new information about elemental distributions in novel materials.

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