The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency has given approval to commence neutron beam testing of the Emu back-scattering spectrometer, which has an energy resolution of 1μeV. EMU is the fourth spectrometer after Taipan, Sika and Pelican, and it extends to the best energy-transfer resolution available at OPAL.
Emu is the first such reactor-based back-scattering spectrometer outside of France, Germany and the USA. It is the 13th instrument at OPAL (or the 14th if we include the Joey crystal-alignment station).
Also this day, the final key components, the converging guide (between deflector and main vacuum vessel) and two choppers, have also arrived at ANSTO and are now being installed. Once this is done, neutron beam testing can commence.
Congratulations to project manager Nicolas de Souza and the team of engineers and technicians who have designed, procured and installed all of the components of Emu. Nicolas has recently been joined by two additional instrument scientists for Emu, Alice Klapproth and Gail Iles.
Published: 09/01/2015