Small-angle neutron scattering at pulsed spallation sources

The importance of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) in biological, chemical, physical and engineering research mandates that all intense neutron sources be equipped with SANS instruments. Four existing instruments at pulsed sources are described and the general differences between pulsed-source and reactor-based instrument designs are discussed. The basic geometries are identical, but dynamic range is generally achieved by using a broad band of wavelengths (with time-of-flight analysis) rather than by moving the detector. This allows optimization for maximum beam intensity at a given beam size over the full dynamic range with fixed collimation. Data-acquisition requirements at a pulsed source are more severe, requiring large fast histograming memories. Data reduction is also more complex, as all wavelength-dependent and angle-dependent backgrounds and nonlinearities must be accounted for before data can be transformed to intensity versus momentum transfer (Q). A comparison is shown between the Los Alamos pulsed instrument and DII (Institut Laue-Langevin) and examples from the four major topics of the conference are shown. The general conclusion is that reactor-based instruments remain superior at very low Q or if only a narrow range of Q is required, but that the current generation of pulsed-source instruments is competitive at moderate Q and may be faster when a wide range of Q is required.