Feasibility study on application of a magnetic neutron lens to SANS experiments

Oku, Takayuki   ; Suzuki, Junichi; Sasao, Hajime*; Adachi, Tomohiro*; Shinohara, Takenao*; Ikeda, Kazuaki*; Morishima, Takahiro*; Sakai, Kenji* ; Kiyanagi, Yoshiaki*; Furusaka, Michihiro*; Shimizu, Hirohiko

As a neutron has a magnetic dipole moment, it is accelerated in a magnetic field gradient. Thus, we can control a neutron trajectory free from neutron beam attenuation and scattering using the magnetic field gradient. A sextupole magnetic field functions as a neutron focusing and defocusing lens depending on the neutron spin state. The neutron focusing effect was experimentally verified using a 6-piece permanent sextupole magnet. For the application in practical neutron scattering experiments, a sextupole magnet with a sufficiently large aperture accompanied with strong focusing power is demanded. Recently, a superconducting sextupole magnet, a Halbach-type permanent sextupole magnet and a sextupole pulse electro-magnet have been developed in a project of the development and application of neutron optics. These magnets will be dedicated to practical uses in neutron scattering experiments. In this paper, current status of the development of the magnetic neutron lenses is reported, and their application in the neutron scattering experiments is discussed.