New developments of TOF neutron diffraction at the IBR-2 pulsed reactor

Development of high-resolution RTOF Fourier technique for powder neutron diffraction studies is being continued at the IBR-2 pulsed reactor in Dubna. Besides some technical improvements in the operating HRFD instrument, a new dedicated instrument, Fourier Strain Diffractometer (FSD), for investigation of residual stresses in bulk materials has been constructed at IBR-2 in 1999. With a new HRFD Fourier chopper smaller than 10 μs TOF contribution in a resolution function was obtained in the experiment with perfect Si single crystal. A series of diffraction experiments with the beams from a new methane cold neutron moderator installed at the IBR-2 in 1999 is discussed. A comparison with the results obtained with the conventional water comb-like moderator shows that for various types of experiments, which are performed at HRFD and DN-2 diffractometers, the methane cold neutron source provides better conditions. (author)