Wavelength frame multiplication for reflectometry at long-pulse neutron sources.

The European Spallation Source (ESS), which is under construction in Lund (Sweden), will be the next leading neutron facility with an unprecedented brilliance and novel long-pulse time structure. A long-pulse source not only provides a high time-average flux but also opens the possibility to tune the resolution by using pulse shaping choppers. Thus, an instrument can readily be operated in either a high flux or a high resolution mode. Several of the shorter instruments at the ESS will employ Wavelength Frame Multiplication (WFM) in order to enable a sufficient resolution while offering a continuous and broad wavelength range. A test beamline was operated until the end of 2019 at the research reactor in Berlin to test components and methods, including WFM, in order to prepare the new facility for the operation of neutron instruments and successful first science. We herein demonstrate the implementation of WFM for reflectometry. By selecting a short pulse mode under the same geometrical configuration, we compare and discuss the results for two reference samples. The reported experiments not only serve to prove the reliability of the WFM approach but also, for the first time, demonstrate the full instrument control, data acquisition and data reduction chain that will be implemented at the ESS.

Spatially resolved time-of-flight neutron imaging using a scintillator CMOS-camera detector with kHz time resolution.

We herein report on using a compact and low cost scintillator-camera based neutron detection system for quantitative time-of-flight imaging applications. While powerful pulsed neutron sources emerge and enable unprecedented scientific achievements, one bottleneck is the availability of suitable detectors that provide high count- and high frame- rate capabilities. For imaging applications the achievable spatial resolution/pixel size is obviously another key characteristic. While major effort was so far directed towards the development of neutron counting type imaging detectors, this work demonstrates that a camera based detector system as commonly employed at steady state sources can also be used if a suitable camera is utilized. This is demonstrated at the ESS test beamline (V20) at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin by recording the time-of-flight transmission spectrum of steel samples using a CMOS camera at 1 kHz frame rate, revealing the characteristic Bragg edge pattern. This 'simple' setup in the current state presents a useful option of neutron detection and has the potential to overcome many of the existing limitations and could provide a reliable alternative for neutron detector technology in general, given that the camera and scintillator technology keep up the current development speed.

Crystallographic Structure Analysis of a Ti-Ta Thin Film Materials Library Fabricated by Combinatorial Magnetron Sputtering.

Ti-Ta thin films exhibit properties that are of interest for applications as microactuators and as biomedical implants. A Ti-Ta thin film materials library was deposited at T = 25 °C by magnetron sputtering employing the combinatorial approach, which led to a compositional range of Ti87Ta13 to Ti14Ta86. Subsequent high-throughput characterization methods permitted a quick and comprehensive study of the crystallographic, microstructural, and morphological properties, which strongly depend on the chemical composition. SEM investigation revealed a columnar morphology having pyramidal, sharp tips with coarser columns in the Ti-rich and finer columns in the Ta-rich region. By grazing incidence X-ray diffraction four phases were identified, from Ta-lean to Ta-rich: ω phase, α″ martensite, ß phase, and a tetragonal Ta-rich phase (Ta(tetr)). The crystal structure and microstructure were analyzed by Rietveld refinement and clear trends could be determined as a function of Ta-content. The lattice correspondences between ß as the parent phase and α″ and ω as derivative phases were expressed in matrix form. The ß â‡Œ α″ phase transition shows a discontinuity at the composition where the martensitic transformation temperatures fall below room temperature (between 34 and 38 at. % Ta) rendering it first order and confirming its martensitic nature. A short study of the α″ martensite employing the Landau theory is included for a mathematical quantification of the spontaneous lattice strain at room temperature (ϵ̂max = 22.4(6) % for pure Ti). Martensitic properties of Ti-Ta are beneficial for the development of high-temperature actuators with actuation response at transformation temperatures higher than 100 °C.

Time-of-Flight Three Dimensional Neutron Diffraction in Transmission Mode for Mapping Crystal Grain Structures.

The physical properties of polycrystalline materials depend on their microstructure, which is the nano- to centimeter scale arrangement of phases and defects in their interior. Such microstructure depends on the shape, crystallographic phase and orientation, and interfacing of the grains constituting the material. This article presents a new non-destructive 3D technique to study centimeter-sized bulk samples with a spatial resolution of hundred micrometers: time-of-flight three-dimensional neutron diffraction (ToF 3DND). Compared to existing analogous X-ray diffraction techniques, ToF 3DND enables studies of samples that can be both larger in size and made of heavier elements. Moreover, ToF 3DND facilitates the use of complicated sample environments. The basic ToF 3DND setup, utilizing an imaging detector with high spatial and temporal resolution, can easily be implemented at a time-of-flight neutron beamline. The technique was developed and tested with data collected at the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility of the Japan Proton Accelerator Complex (J-PARC) for an iron sample. We successfully reconstructed the shape of 108 grains and developed an indexing procedure. The reconstruction algorithms have been validated by reconstructing two stacked Co-Ni-Ga single crystals, and by comparison with a grain map obtained by post-mortem electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD).