Historical account of polarized neutrons in Grenoble

Abstract

The history of polarized neutrons in Grenoble starts with reactor Melusine where a lifting counter diffractometer was constructed to measure spin densities and form factors. When the Institut Laue Langevin began to operate, the instruments of the first generation included only one multipurpose triple-axis spectrometer for polarization analysis, spin densities and form factor measurements. Soon the construction of the spin echo started and two other dedicated polarized neutron instruments were added: one for spin densities and one for diffuse scattering. Polarization analysis progressed from one-directional to three-directional and later was generalized to three-dimensional. The advance of polarizing devices such as monochromators, mirrors, supermirrors, and polarizing filters is also discussed.