Development of an electrostatic levitator for neutron diffraction structure analysis

An electrostatic levitation (ESL) furnace was designed for the neutron diffraction study of condensed matter. This apparatus is composed of an electrostatic levitator, a neutron inlet path with Cd slit, a 160 degree window for the scattered neutrons, a CO2 laser for sample heating, and an optical pyrometer for temperature measurements. A preliminary neutron diffraction experiment with this ESL was performed for polycrystalline alumina. The sample position could be controlled with an accuracy of ±0.1 mm. The observed Bragg peaks were in complete agreement with those derived from the lattice data of alumina obtained from the literature value. This indicates that this facility is attractive for the structural study of condensed matter without containers.