Technical Specification of the Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Instrument SKADI at the European Spallation Source

Small-K Advanced DIffractometer (SKADI is a Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) instrument to be constructed at the European Spallation Source (ESS). SANS instruments allow investigations of the structure of materials in the size regime between Angstroms up to micrometers. As very versatile instruments, they usually cater to the scientific needs of communities, such as chemists, biologists, and physicists, ranging from material and food sciences to archeology. They can offer analysis of the micro- and mesoscopic structure of the samples, as well as an analysis of the spin states in the samples, for example, for magnetic samples. SKADI, as a broad range instrument, thus offers features, such as an extremely flexible space for the sample environment, to accommodate a wide range of experiments, high-flux, and optimized detector-collimation system to allow for an excellent resolution of the sample structure, short measurement times to be able to record the internal kinetics during a transition in the sample, as well as polarized neutron scattering. In this manuscript, we describe the final design for the construction of SKADI. All of the features and capabilities presented here are projected to be included into the final instrument when going into operation phase.

Automated summary

SKADI is a Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) instrument to be constructed at the European Spallation Source (ESS), catering to the scientific needs of various communities for analyzing the structure of materials. It features an extremely flexible space for sample environment, high-flux, optimized detector-collimation system and short measurement times, offering excellent resolution for analyzing sample structure and internal kinetics during transitions.