Single-crystal diamond: a potential gem in neutron instrumentation

Calculations have been performed showing that single-crystal diamond has the highest performance of all materials proposed in the past and presently used as neutron monochromators. If large mosaic crystals were available, the presently available flux on most neutron scattering instruments could be increased by factors of between 1.5 and 4. Thanks to recent progress in chemical vapour deposition technology the growth of diamond single-crystal layers with a suitable mosaic spread has become feasible. Provided an adequate research and development effort is made, it is expected that the high potential of this extraordinary material can be exploited in the not too distant future.