Optimising neutron polarisers—measuring a single cross-section

This article is part of a series of works exploring the optimisation of neutron polarisation analysis measurements. It deals with measurements of individual spin flip and non-spin flip neutron scattering cross-sections. An instrumental quality factor is presented. The optimum effective thickness for gaseous spin polarised 3He transmission filters is derived and presented. Cu2MnAl Heusler alloy polarising monochromators and supermirror devices are considered using the quality factor. Absolute comparisons are made between these different types of polarisers. The effect of instrumental background is calculated for a wide range of experimental situations. Even very small backgrounds can have a very large effect on the quality of measurements achievable indicating that great attention must be paid to background reduction on polarisation analysis instruments.