Neutron holography

Abstract

The basic concept of the atomic resolution neutron holography is briefly described. It can be realised by two different schemes. In the frame of the first approach a point-like source of slow neutrons has to be produced inside of the investigated crystal. Due to the extremely large value of the incoherent scattering cross section of the proton, hydrogen atoms imbedded in a metal single crystal lattice may serve as point-like sources as the sample irradiated by a monochromatic beam of slow neutrons. The second approach utilizes the registration of the interference between the incident and scattered beams by means of a point-like detector inserted in the lattice of the crystal under investigation. Examples demonstrating the feasibility of these ideas are presented.