Towards generalized data reduction on a chopper-based time-of-flight neutron reflectometer

The calculation of neutron reflectivity from raw time-of-flight data including instrumental corrections and an improved resolution calculation is presented. The theoretical calculations are compared with experimental data measured on the vertical sample plane reflectometer D17 and the horizontal sample plane reflectometer FIGARO at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble, France. This article comprises the mathematical body of the time-of-flight reflectivity data-reduction software COSMOS which is used on D17 and FIGARO.