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High-resolution neutron spectroscopy using backscattering and neutron spin-echo spectrometers in soft and hard condensed matter

Nature Reviews Physics volume 2, pages 103–116 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

The instruments best suited to performing high-energy-resolution neutron spectroscopy are spin-echo spectrometers and backscattering spectrometers. The development of these experimental techniques dates back almost half a century, and most major neutron scattering facilities operate mature spectrometers of one or both classes. Recent advances in instrumentation and neutron sources are enhancing their performance and expanding their capabilities, with the objective of enabling researchers to tackle new and more complex problems. In this Technical Review, we assess the current state of the art in high-energy-resolution neutron spectrometers, showcasing their role in the study of nanoscale dynamics in soft and biological materials, as well as disordered magnets.

Key points

  • Neutron scattering is a uniquely powerful experimental method to study the structure and dynamics in materials.

  • Neutron spin-echo and backscattering spectrometers probe the dynamics in materials on the picosecond and nanosecond timescales and provide spatial information on the motions over ångström to nanometre length scales.

  • High-resolution scattering studies have contributed to a wide range of scientific fields, from nanosized data storage and carbon sequestration to the efficiency of modern batteries and drug delivery systems.

  • The state of the art of these instruments is constantly evolving, in particular in improving the resolution and accelerating the rate at which data can be acquired.

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Fig. 1: Timescales and length scales probed by different experimental techniques.
Fig. 2: Measuring chain dynamics in polymer nanocomposites.
Fig. 3: Slow spin dynamics in disordered magnets.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank E. Senses and M. Nagao for critical reading of the manuscript, QENS instrument scientists worldwide and the research community, who keep bringing new research and challenges to the facilities. A.F. acknowledges support from the Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering, a partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US National Science Foundation under agreement no. DMR-1508249. This research used resources at the Spallation Neutron Source, a US Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The authors thank J. Hemman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Graphics Design Group, for support with some of the figures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neutron Platform, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, China

    Jason S. Gardner

  2. Neutron Technologies Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

    Georg Ehlers

  3. Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

    Antonio Faraone

  4. ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Science and Technologies Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, UK

    Victoria García Sakai

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  1. Jason S. Gardner
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  4. Victoria García Sakai
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The authors contributed equally to all aspects of the article.

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Correspondence to Jason S. Gardner.

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Supplementary information

Glossary

Coherent scattering

Wavevector transfer (Q)-dependent scattering that contains information about scattering structures.

Incoherent scattering

Relatively weakly wavevector transfer (Q)-dependent scattering that contains information about the movement of an individual atom in time.

Fission

A nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy, neutrons and other products.

Spallation

A process by which a heavy nucleus ejects smaller particles, including neutrons, after, for example, being hit with high-energy particles.

Moderator

A material used to reduce the energy of free neutrons by a large number of inelastic collisions.

Thermal neutrons

Unbound or free neutrons with an average energy of ~25 meV at room temperature.

Cold neutrons

Unbound or free neutrons with an average energy lower than ~5 meV.

Mezei NSE

A type of neutron spin-echo (NSE) spectrometer in which the velocity of each neutron is encoded in its Larmor precession in a magnetic field.

Time of flight

A technique by which the time taken for a neutron to travel a known distance is used to determine its velocity (and thus energy).

Modulation of intensity by zero effort

(MIEZE). A modified resonance neutron spin-echo technique that enables measurements to be taken under conditions that depolarize the neutron beam.

Anti-Helmholtz coils

A pair of coils in which the electrical current flows in opposite directions in the two coils, producing a high-magnetic-field gradient from the centre out.

Flipper

A device used to manipulate the neutron spin direction non-adiabatically.

Resonance NSE spectrometers

A type of neutron spin-echo (NSE) spectrometer that employs radio-frequency spin flippers to manipulate the spin of each neutron and encode its velocity.

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Gardner, J.S., Ehlers, G., Faraone, A. et al. High-resolution neutron spectroscopy using backscattering and neutron spin-echo spectrometers in soft and hard condensed matter. Nat Rev Phys 2, 103–116 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-019-0128-1

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