Wide-angle mechanical velocity selection for scattered neutrons in inelastic neutron spectrometers

We have analyzed the performance of the proposed mechanical device suitable for wide-angle velocity selection of neutrons scattered at the sample position in inelastic neutron spectrometers. The proposed wide-angle velocity selector (WAVES) is essentially a collimator that rotates about the vertical axis passing through the sample position, whose blades are not radial, but instead shaped to optimize the transmission of neutrons of the targeted velocity. The rotation phase of the selector does not need to be synchronized with the incident beam pulses, as long as the incident neutrons can reach the sample position, which greatly simplifies the selector control and makes it suitable for neutron spectrometers at both pulsed and steady sources. We discuss applications of the proposed selector in various types of the inverted-geometry neutron spectrometers.