POLARIZING AND NON-POLARIZING NEUTRON MIRRORS AND WAFERS COATED WITH NEUTRON ABSORBERS FOR NESTED MIRROR OPTICS

Polarizing and Non-polarizing Neutron Mirrors and Wafers Coated with Neutron Absorbers for Nested Mirror Optics

The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) managed by UT-Battelle, LLC (the Company) is developing nested mirror optics (NMOs) to act as corrective lenses for neutron scattering instruments at both pulsed and reactor neutron sources. Nested mirror optics deliver a full optics system in a device the size of a shoebox, which means they can be easily exchanged based on the current need of an instrument. This will greatly improve the signal-to-background ratios for neutron scattering, especially for experiments involving new materials or biological samples that can only be prepared in small quantities and where samples are in constrained environments such as pressure cells or high magnetic fields. The nested mirror optics consist of several individual, neutron mirror segments mounted in a frame that holds each mirror in a specific orientation. Polarizing supermirrors will be used in same manner to reflect one neutron spin state but transmit the other spin state as well as creating focusing neutron spin filters. Silicon wafers substrates with a neutron absorbing coating are used in a frame to provide collimation of the neutron beam downstream of the NMO. 
 
This specification establishes the requirements for Seller materials of construction, fabrication, inspection, testing, delivery, and final Company acceptance of the neutron mirrors and substrates. The neutron mirrors and substrates shall be manufactured for use at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) facilities at ORNL in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA.