BARC/PUB/10//0896

 
 

First Sub-arcsecond Collimation of Monochromatic Neutrons

 
     
 
Author(s)

Wagh, A. G.; Abbas, S.; Treimer, W.

ABSTRACT

We have achieved the tightest collimation to date of a monochromatic neutron beam by diffracting neutrons from a Bragg prism, viz. a single crystal prism operating in the vicinity of Bragg incidence. An optimised silicon {111} Bragg prism has collimated 5.26Å neutrons down to 0.58 arcsecond. In conjunction with a similarly optimised Bragg prism analyser of opposite asymmetry, this ultra-parallel beam yielded a 0.62 arcsecond wide rocking curve. This beam has produced the first SUSANS spectrum in Q ~ 10 -6 Å -1 range with a hydroxyapatite casein protein sample and demonstrated the instrument capability of characterising agglomerates upto 150 µm in size. The super-collimation has also enabled recording of the first neutron diffraction pattern from a macroscopic grating of 200 µm period. An analysis of this pattern yielded the beam transverse coherence length of 175 µm (FWHM), the greatest achieved to date for Å wavelength neutrons.

 
 
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