Neutron Powder Diffraction and Equipment Upgrades at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor: Leveraging Previous Investments in Canadian Neutron Scattering

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The purpose of this Research Tools and Instruments grant application is to upgrade the neutron scattering instrumentation at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR) by obtaining surplus equipment from the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (CNBC) at Chalk River which closed in March 2019. The MNR is currently Canada's only source of neutron beams for materials research. Neutrons are a fundamental tool for studying the properties of novel materials, revealing crucial information about structure, magnetism, and the nature of interatomic forces and interactions. The MNR is home to two neutron scattering beamlines: the McMaster Alignment Diffractometer (MAD) and the McMaster Small Angle Neutron Scattering beamline (MacSANS, scheduled to become operational in Summer 2020). These two beamlines offer unique capabilities for materials research in Canada, and have the capacity to serve scientists from across the country, in fields ranging from Physics and Chemistry, to Biology, Environmental Sciences, and Engineering.******The closure of the CNBC presents a unique, and time-sensitive, opportunity to expand the experimental capabilities of the MNR. In particular, there is a significant amount of neutron scattering instrumentation associated with the CNBC which is now surplus and must be removed (or disposed of) before the decommissioning of the NRU reactor. We propose to purchase this surplus equipment and relocate it to the MNR, where it can continue to serve the Canadian neutron scattering community. This new equipment for MNR would include a suite of low temperature and high magnetic field sample environments, as well as valuable ancillary equipment such as detectors, monitors, filters, monochromators, collimators, motors, stages, and associated electronics. However, the centerpiece of this proposal is the detector from the C2 neutron powder diffractometer at CNBC, a sensitive 800 element multi-wire neutron detector with an 80 degree angular range. This detector can be adapted for almost immediate use at the MNR, which would provide the only facility for neutron powder diffraction in Canada as early as Summer 2020.******This proposal represents an opportunity to leverage a significant, decades long, investment in neutron scattering instrumentation at the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre in Chalk River. We conservatively estimate that the $148,630 requested in this RTI application would allow us to acquire neutron scattering instrumentation originally valued at over ten times as much. This instrumentation will introduce exciting new capabilities for neutron powder diffraction, low temperature, and high magnetic field scattering at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor, and provide important tools for Canadian researchers studying materials ranging from high temperature superconductors and exotic quantum magnets to biological membranes, novel battery materials, and 3D printed steels.