Upgrading of a Neutron Diffractometer at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center for Materials Research and Education

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

This instrument development award from the Instrumentation for Materials Pesearch program allows the to the university of Pennsylvania to upgrade the Neutron Powder Diffractometer (NPD) at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) to a world-class high-resolution diffractometer for materials research and education. With this upgrade the beamline will have a unique capability for simultaneous high-Q (momentum transfer) crystallographic analysis as well as the real-space atomic pair-density function (PDF) analysis. The data acquisition rate at high angles will increase by a factor of five by adding a large backscattering detector module, upgrade computers and install a beam-chopper. The upgrading of NPD will have wide-ranging educational impact. This fivefold increasing in the data collection rate will create more research opportunities for graduate students from five different institutions. Graduate students will also participate in the calibration task and development of software, and thus acquire precious experience of setting up a large instrument at a national facility. This project will significantly contribute to increasing the university users. *** The power of pulsed neutron powder diffraction method in materials research is widely recognized. It is capable of determining the atomic structure of complex materials with high accuracy, thus providing basic information vital to materials science and technology. This award will allow the University of Pennsylvania to carry a very cost-effective upgrade of the Neutron Powder Diffractometer (NPD) at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) to a world-class high-resolution diffractometer for materials research and education. This will allow a dramatic improvement of the data collection rate, by a factor of five. Upgrading this beamline will have significant impact on graduate education and training at five different institutions. This will help contribute to overcome a critical shortage of trained scientists in neutron scattering in the US. The IMR award is significantly leveraged using funds from LANSCE. %%%