Front lines of structural analyses by pulsed Neutron Diffraction

The neutron is a subatomic particle without electronic charge, but has a magnetic moment. This nature leads high permeability compared to x-rays, and therefore neutrons become the powerful nondestructive probe for measurements. Diffraction patterns for wide reciprocal space can be measured by pulsed neutrons, which have been exploited for the structural analyses from amorphous materials to crystalline solids. Further, the pulsed neutrons have been applied to the structural studies of highly disordered materials, and also nanometer size materials. The structural studies using pulsed neutrons are reviewed in this paper from pioneering researches to the latest results in comparison with those by synchrotron radiation x-rays. For the amorphous hydrogen storage material, TbFe2D3.0, the structure factor and atomic pair distribution function (PDF) by neutron diffraction are compared with those by x-ray diffraction. The local crystal structure of a multiferroic system has been studied by means of PDF analysis on neutron powder diffraction data. PDF analysis is employed in order to determine the precise lattice parameters of nano-structure materials. The three distinctive neutron diffractometers, super high resolution powder diffractometer, high intensity total diffractometer and iMATERIA (IBARAKI materials design diffractometer), under construction at Material and Life Science Facility in J-PARC are introduced. (Y.K.)