Neutron Interferometry Using a Single Modulated Phase Grating

Published

April 1, 2023

Author(s)

Ivan Hidrovo, Joynoi Dey, Daniel Hussey, Nikolai Klimov, Leslie Butler, Kum Ham, W Newhauser

Abstract

Neutron grating interferometry provides information on phase and small-angle scatter in addition to attenuation. Previously, phase grating moiré interferometers (PGMI) with two or three phase gratings have been developed. These phase-grating systems use the moiré far-field technique to avoid the need for high-aspect absorption gratings used in Talbot-Lau Interferometers (TLI) which reduce the neutron flux reaching the detector. We demonstrate through simulations a novel phase grating interferometer system for cold neutrons that requires a single modulated phase grating (MPG) for phase-contrast imaging, as opposed to the two or three phase gratings in previously employed PGMI systems. We compare the MPG system to experiments in the literature that use a two-phase-grating-based PGMI with a best-case visibility of around 39% (Pushin et al. 2017). The simulations of the MPG system show improved visibility in comparison to that two-grating PGMI. For example, an MPG with a modulation period 120 µm, pitch of 1 µm, and grating heights with a phase modulation of (π,π/4), illuminated by a monochromatic beam, produces a visibility of 85% with a comparable source-to-detector distance (SDD) as the two-phase-grating-based PGMI. Phase sensitivity, another important performance metric of the grating interferometer was compared to values available in the literature, viz. the conventional TLI with phase sensitivity of 4.5 x 10^3 for a SDD of 3.5 m and a beam wavelength of 0.44 nm. For a range of modulation periods, the MPG system provides comparable or greater theoretical maximum phase sensitivity of 4.1 x 10^3 to 13.2 x 10^3 for SDD of up to 3 m. This proposed MPG system appears capable of providing high-performance PGMI that obviates the need for the alignment of 2 phase gratings.

Citation

Review of Scientific Instruments

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

neutron grating interferometry, dark-field imaging

Citation

Hidrovo, I. , Dey, J. , Hussey, D. , Klimov, N. , Butler, L. , Ham, K. and Newhauser, W. (2023), Neutron Interferometry Using a Single Modulated Phase Grating, Review of Scientific Instruments, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=935112 (Accessed October 17, 2025)