Abstract.
Since its discovery in 1966, the photorefractive effect, i.e. the change of the refractive index upon illumination with light, has been studied extensively in various materials and has turned out to play a key role in modern optical technologies like photonics. This article focuses on substances that change their refractive index for neutrons when irradiated with light. In analogy to light optics, we call them photo-neutronrefractive. After a short introduction to the relevant concepts of neutron optics, two materials exhibiting this effect, a photopolymer and an electrooptic crystal, are presented. Further, we discuss the progress made concerning the development of creating light-induced gratings for neutron diffraction, which culminated in the setup of an interferometer for cold neutrons. Experiments performed on photo-neutronrefractive materials are surveyed and the variety of corresponding results obtained is presented, including a discussion of their impact on material science, neutron optics, and the foundations of physics.
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Received: 23 July 2002 / Published online: 25 October 2002
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Fally, M. The photo-neutronrefractive effect . Appl Phys B 75, 405–426 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-002-1035-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-002-1035-0