  Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) uses commercially available monocrystalline
double-sided super-polished silicon wafers as a basis to produce mirrors that
form lightweight high-resolution X-ray optics. The technology has been invented
by cosine Measurement Systems and the European Space Agency (ESA) and developed
together with scientific and industrial partners to mass production levels. It
leverages techniques and processes developed over decades by the semiconductor
industry to handle, process, and clean silicon wafers and plates. SPO is an
enabling technology for large space-borne X-ray telescopes such as Athena and
ARCUS, operating in the 0.2 to 12 keV band, with angular resolution aiming for
5 arc seconds. SPO has also shown to be a versatile technology that can be
further developed for gamma-ray optics, medical applications and for material
research.

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics