The cold neutron diffractometer DMC at SINQ, operated by the Laboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging LNS, is currently undergoing major upgrades. After the recent replacement of the cold neutron guide as part of the SINQ upgrade program, the installation of the new high-performance 2D position-sensitive detector successfully entered the hot commissioning phase.
The Technical University Munich TUM and the NUM Division of PSI jointly developed two identical large 3He wire detectors to be operated at SINQ and at FRM-II, respectively. Special features are high detection efficiency, coverage of large solid angle and two-dimensional readout. The increase of count rate for powder experiments of well above an order of magnitude as compared to the previous DMC detector, as well as the event-based neutron detection, enable novel applications and experimental possibilities that have not been feasible at SINQ up to now.
In the recent weeks, the new detector has been installed at DMC. Thanks to a great collaborative effort of the Laboratory for Particle Physics LTP and the Laboratory for Neutron and Muon Instrumentation LIN of the NUM division at PSI, the project now entered the hot commissioning phase and first data were successfully taken on powder and single-crystal samples. DMC will enter the regular SINQ user operation program later in 2022.