Characterization of pyrolytic graphite with cold neutrons

Abstract We present a thorough investigation of the diffuse scattering of neutrons from Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) that appears in the tails of the ( 002 ) Bragg scattering profile. Using a low background neutron diffraction setup, the elastic diffuse scattering is shown to be a factor of 1 0 4 − 1 0 7 weaker than the peak intensity of the ( 002 ) Bragg reflection. Evidence of inelastic scattering due to phonons is observed, 1 0 5 times weaker than the Bragg peak. Our results demonstrate the possibility of using HOPG in complex multiplexing geometries to improve the performance of spectrometers involving multi-analyzer back-end systems, and can be helpful in designing such systems for optimal performance.