Microfabricated silicon gratings as neutron-optical components

Microfabricated silicon gratings provide unique test procedures for instruments in neutron scattering and the interpretation of experimental data. Ultra-Small Angle Neutron Scattering (USANS) is currently becoming an effective technique for the analysis of structures in the micrometer range. A series of one-dimensional silicon gratings was fabricated using a highly anisotropic ion etching technique (RIE) and measured at the USANS instrument S18 at ILL, Grenoble. The scattering patterns show up to 17 orders of diffraction, grating parameters derived from these data are in good agreement with the nominal values. Scattering length density correlation functions calculated from the USANS data are compared to Spin Echo SANS (SESANS) correlation functions measured at the Delft University of Technology, demonstrating the complementarity of the two scattering methods.