NEWS December 2012
2D focusing monochromator array by SwissNeutronics
SwissNeutronics is the leading provider of sophisticated mechanisms for crystal monochromators and analyzers in the field of neutron scattering. Various kinds of focusing arrays are designed and manufactured. In addition, SwissNeutronics provides the alignment of the individual monochromating single crystals:
2D variable focusing for pyrolytic graphite, Cu, Ge, etc.
1D variable focusing w/ or w/o fixed focusing of the other direction
Heusler monochromators with 1D variable focusing, w/ or w/o fixed focusing of the other direction
Bent silicon monochromators with 1D variable focusing, w/ or w/o fixed focusing of the other direction.
In order to characterize the alignment of the 2D focusing monochromators, the array of the crystal holders is equipped with small mirrors. Afterwards, the accuracy of the alignment is checked using the reflection of light. For the experiment only a preliminary alignment of the individual crystal holders was performed, thus the columns and rows show some variation of the tilt of the crystal holders. However, over the relevant focusing range the array shows an extremely stable and consistent behaviour confirming the very precise mechanism. A short movie about the experiment using the focusing array for the triple axis spectrometer KOMPASS at FRM II can be found here. The pictures below show the reflection of the light from the monochromator array in i) the flat and ii) the fully focused configuration.