Athena aims to study very hot and energetic phenomena in the universe using the Athena X-ray telescope. This telescope is equipped with mirrors: a revolutionary optical system in which stacked thin sheets of silicon act as a lens that directs the captured X-ray light to the spectrometer and camera. Micronit, specialist in microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip and microtechnology, is developing the silicon plates and the necessary processes to make this revolutionary optical system, together with its client Cosine. The mirrors are produced in Micronit’s cleanroom in Enschede.
