Correlation length using small-angle neutron scattering

A. Michels, J. Weissmuller, U. Erb, and J. G. Barker, Measurement of a Magnetic-Field Dependent Correlation Length in Nanocrystalline Ni Using Small-Angle Neutron Scattering , phys. stat. sol. (a) 189, 509 (2002). 

The correlation length has been measured using scattering experiments, as discussed in Section 5.7. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) data on polystyrene in deuterated cyclohexane at 0 = 38.O°C are summarized in Fig. 5.8. These data are in good agreement with the power law expected by Eq. (5.52), shown as the line. 

Small angle scattering is a technique for measuring spatial correlations at large distance. The resolution is lost at the atomic and even at the monomer unit scale, typically we can not expect to have an accurate structural information for length smaller than 10 A. The experiment can be achieved either using light. X-ray or neutrons. 

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