Far-field interference of a neutron white beam and the applications to noninvasive phase-contrast imaging

Published

April 21, 2021

Author(s)

Michael G. Huber, Daniel S. Hussey, Muhammad D. Arif, David L. Jacobson, Jacob LaManna, Wakana Ueno, Han Wen, Dmitry Pushin, Dusan Sarenac, David Cory, Houxun Miao, Takenao Shinohara, Joseph Parker

Abstract

The phenomenon of interference plays a crucial role in the field of precision measurement science. Waveparticle duality has expanded the well-known interference effects of electromagnetic waves to massive particles. The majority of the wave-particle interference experiments require a near monochromatic beam which limits its applications due to the resulting low intensity. Here we demonstrate white beam interference in the far-field regime using a two-phase-grating neutron interferometer and its application to phase-contrast imaging. The functionality of this interferometer is based on the universal moiré effect that allows us to improve upon the standard Lau setup. Interference fringes were observed with monochromatic and polychromatic neutron beams for both continuous and pulsed beams. Far-field neutron interferometry allows for the full utilization of intense neutron sources for precision measurements of gradient fields. It also overcomes the alignment, stability, and fabrication challenges associated with the more familiar perfect-crystal neutron interferometer, as well as avoids the loss of intensity due to the absorption analyzer grating requirement in Talbot-Lau interferometer.

Citation

Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics)

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Neutron Interferometry, Neutron Imaging, Far-Field Interferometry

Citation

Huber, M. , Hussey, D. , Arif, M. , Jacobson, D. , LaManna, J. , Ueno, W. , Wen, H. , Pushin, D. , Sarenac, D. , Cory, D. , Miao, H. , Shinohara, T. and Parker, J. (2021), Far-field interference of a neutron white beam and the applications to noninvasive phase-contrast imaging, Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics), [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=921124 (Accessed April 19, 2024)