A high performance neutron moderator design

A simple analytical model of a neutron moderator is presented taking into account the refraction of neutrons crossing an interface. The model is used to determine the gain that can be obtained when structuring a neutron moderator at a neutron source. The model is used to explain quantitatively the result obtained by recent measurements of such a moderator. It is shown that a laminar structured moderator can yield gain factors of an order of magnitude.