Spin-contrast-variation small-angle scattering, reflectometry, and diffractometry using polarized neutrons and proton-polarized samples

Kumada, Takayuki   ; Miura, Daisuke*

Scattering power of a neutron against a proton remarkably depends on their relative spin direction. Spin-contrast-variation (SCV) utilizes this property to determine structures of composite materials from polarized-neutron scatterings against proton-polarization samples. We are improving the SCV technique to determine substructure of minor components of composite materials which has not been accessed with conventional techniques. In SCV small-angle neutron scatterings, we determined substructure of soil organic matter stuck to inorganic minerals from the proton-polarization (PH)-dependent multiple scatterings. In SCV neutron reflectometry, we determined structure of "hidden" interface between sublayers of multilayer films from the PH-dependent multiple reflectivity curves. In SCV crystallography, we observed increments and decrements of peak intensities as a function of PH.