Project of the new multifunctional reflectometer GRAINS with horizontal sample plane at the IBR-2M pulsed reactor in Dubna

The new multifunctional reflectometer GRAINS is under construction at the modernized high flux IBR-2 pulsed reactor (IBR-2M) of the FLNP JINR (Dubna, Russia). The principal feature of this reflectometer, the horizontal sample plane (or vertical scattering plane), enables the study of liquid-containing interfaces. The reflectometer will operate in the time-of-flight regime with constant sample illumination during measurements. The important advantage is the constant angular resolution with unvaried background. The additional modes of the GRAINS reflectometer comprise (1) off-specular scattering and GISANS, which are measured simultaneously in the TOF regime at a 2D position-sensitive detector; (2) angular encoding in the horizontal plane, which is provided by a Larmor precession region limited by current sheets in front of the sample; (3) 3D polarimetry in reflection, which is provided by a Larmor precession region around the sample position. The design of the reflectometer is optimised to take better advantage of an exceptionally broad wavelength band of the new cold moderator at the IBR-2M. The set-up will open up principally new possibilities for investigations in the field of interface nano-science at the IBR-2M reactor.