Polarized proton spin filter for epithermal neutrons based on dynamic nuclear polarization using photo-excited triplet electron spins

Abstract

Abstract To polarize neutrons with energy beyond 0.1 eV, we developed a novel polarized proton spin filter based on dynamic nuclear polarization using photo-excited triplet electron spins. The spin filter consists of a single crystal of naphthalene doped with deuterated pentacene and has a size of $\varnothing15\times4 \, {\rm mm}^3$, allowing it to cover a wide beam diameter. It was operated in 0.35 T and at 90 K. We succeeded in polarizing neutrons in the energy range 0.1–10 eV using a RIKEN accelerator-driven compact neutron source. The averaged values of the proton and neutron polarization were $0.250\pm0.050$ and $0.076\pm0.015$, respectively.