NEUTRON OPTICS
Our polarising devices are based on Fe-Si polarising supermirrors. They are either sputtered onto thick substrates of Si or glass and used in reflection and/or transmission e. g. in cavities. Alternatively, the mirrors are put onto thin Si wafers which are bent in C-shape or S-shape, the so-called solid state benders. S-shape benders reach polarisation values of 98% and higher for neutrons with wavelengths above 2 Å, as shown in the figure.
The solid-state technique where coated wafers are stacked can also be used to collimate neutron beams. Depending on the coating a triangular or rectangular transmission function is reached. Collimations range from 0.1 degrees to a few degrees.
The know-how used by NOB was developed to a large extent together with the Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin and is published by Thomas Krist and his coworkers.
REFERENCES
Neutron optical devices were delivered by NOB to most of the neutron scattering centres worldwide:
Europe: LLB, IFE, Dubna, FZJ, TUM, HZB, MPI, GKSS, U-Bochum, RWTH Aachen
America: SNS, Los Alamos, LENS, Argonne, Chalk River
Asia + Australia: JAERI, JAEA, KAERI, CARR, CMRR, ANSTO
Solid state S-Bender