4.6: Detector characterisation

Within neutron scattering science the trend is toward increasing instrument power to expand neutron scattering techniques to faster kinetics as well as smaller and more complex structures. Neutron reflectometers are the most challenging instruments in terms of detector rate requirements. At current facilities, the time resolution for kinetic studies is limited by the available flux. Moreover, detector performance is already a challenge on reflectometers at existing sources. The peak brightness at the European Spallation Source (ESS) will be without precedent and the requirements for reflectometers at ESS go beyond present-day requirements and existing technologies. Current detectors for reflectometry are at their technical limit and already inhibit instrument performance to some extent. To ensure that the first reflectometry instrument at ESS can be considered as a ‘day-1 instrument’, a new performant and reliable detector system is needed by 2019. BrightnESS WP4 contributes toward meeting ESS requirements. Deliverable 4.6 concerns the completion of a detailed characterization of the Multi-Blade detector used in neutron reflectometry. The results confirm that the ambitious requirements expressed in the conceptual ESS instrument proposals can be met. In that sense, the achievement of Deliverable 4.6 significantly contributes to the reduction of the technical risk in building world-leading neutron reflectometers as part of the ESS instrument suite. Moreover, from the research carried out, the expectation is that the new technology will not only work for ESS, but can also be applied to existing instruments at other neutron sources. The technical details concerning the results of the Multi-Blade detector characterization are shown in the annexed publication which was recently published in JINST. The annex should therefore be considered an integral part of Deliverable 4.6.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17199/BRIGHTNESS.D4.6