Texture Analysis by TOF Measurements of Spallation Neutrons with a 2D-Position Sensitive Detector

A new method is introduced to measure preferred crystallographic orientation in deformed polycrystals. A pulsed beam of protons is accelerated in the linear accelerator at Los Alamos. The beam is then compressed in time in a storage ring and directed towards a W spallation target producing bursts of pulsed neutrons of 0.25 μs duration. The neutron beam (107 n cm−2s−1) is scattered by the polycrystal sample and diffractions, including time of flight of neutrons, are recorded on a 2D detector. This offers both simultaneous coverage of a wide d spectrum (many peaks) and a large orientation region (pole figure segment). Results on Al polycrystals obtained with this instrument agree well with pole figures measured by conventional X-ray diffraction.