An elastically bent silicon crystal as a monochromator for thermal neutrons

Some experimental results are presented for an elastically bent perfect silicon crystal in a strongly asymmetric diffraction geometry as a neutron monochromator. The use of this unconventional geometry of the monochromator appears to be suitable for a wide (several centimetres) incident polychromatic beam, when, thanks to the spatial condensation of the diffracted neutrons (Fankuchen effect), a high monochromatic beam density may be obtained. Furthermore, when using focusing in real and in momentum space by adjusting an optimum bending radius, the intensity diffracted by a sample may be comparable even with the best mosaic monochromators such as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (PG). A comparison is demonstrated on the rocking curves of a strongly mosaic Ni-Al(020) crystal obtained with the monochromatic beam from bent Si(111), Si(400) and from PG(002), Cu(220) mosaic monochromators.