Fine tuning Europe's neutron facilities
The RITA-2 spectrometer offers the advantage of concurrent measurements in a triple-axis geometry, due to its multi-blade crystal analyser. The application of RITA-2, however, could be limited by the potential risk of neutron cross-talk. The neutron cross-talk phenomenon is encountered in open geometry measurements and it describes a situation when neutrons from one analyser blade hit the detection area corresponding to another blade. The Riso National Laboratory research team, based in Denmark, developed a prototype collimator to address the neutron cross-talk problem. The coarse, flexible, radial collimator includes one vane for each analyser crystal. Furthermore, the design incorporates moving blades, which constitute the main innovation of this collimator compared other currently available instruments. Initial testing has been encouraging and further tests have been planned. As part of the TECHNI project, this newly developed neutron collimator contributes to the improvement of the available instrumentation within the EU's neutron scattering facilities. It is likely that such developments could address the limitation faced by researchers in this field across Europe.
