3He spin filters for a thermal neutron triple axis spectrometer

We have tested two 3He neutron spin filters (NSF), one for the polarizer and one for the analyzer, in conjunction with a doubly focusing pyrolytic graphite (PG) monochromator on the state-of-the-art BT-7 thermal triple axis spectrometer (TAS) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). This system will provide significantly better neutronic performance for polarization analysis over a conventional TAS with Heusler crystals. We discuss the scheme for employing NSFs on the TAS instrument, including the 3He cell design, spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) of these large 3He cells, and the holding fields on the spectrometer. Using Rb/K hybrid SEOP, we have produced 75% 3He polarization for the 11 cm diameter cells for TAS in less than two days.