Resonant diffraction of synchrotron radiation by a nuclear multilayer

We report the observation of nuclear resonant diffraction of synchrotron radiation by a synthetic multilayer. The nuclear period of the [⁵⁷Fe(22 {})/Sc(11 {})/Fe(22 {})/Sc(11 {})×{}25 multilayer was chosen to be twice the electronic period to obtain a pure nuclear Bragg reflection. Strong enhancement of the radiative scattering channel provided a fast time response for the ⁵⁷Fe resonant scattering at the Bragg peak, with a decay time of 4 ns. The nuclear multilayer will be useful as a narrow bandpass monochromator for synchrotron radiation.