Germanium as a Neutron Monochromator

Abstract

A comparison has been made of several ways of introducing different amounts of imperfection into neutron transmission monochromators of germanium in order to control their efficiency. The recommended technique is uniaxial plastic compression along the [110] direction at 650°C to a reduction in thickness equal to or slightly under 2.5%. Tests indicate an improvement in efficiency in both single-crystal and power diffractometry of a factor of 25 to 40 over that of an undeformed slab.