Buy article online - an online subscription or single-article purchase is required to access this article.
research papers
A recent experiment on neutron diffraction by microscopically curved silicon crystals has shown the existence of the Fankuchen effect, which is a space condensation of neutrons occurring for this kind of crystal. This paper reports an experimental analysis of neutron focusing in the Fankuchen effect for curved crystals. The focusing effect in a symmetrical geometry was also investigated for comparison. The results are discussed and a conclusion is derived concerning a gain in neutron current density for the Fankuchen geometry, particularly interesting for neutron diffractometry of small biological crystals.