Electron volt neutron spectrometers

The advent of pulsed neutron sources has made available intense fluxes of epithermal neutrons (500 meV ≤ E≤100 eV). The possibility to open new investigations on condensed matter with eV neutron scattering techniques, is related to the development of methods, concepts and devices that drive, or are inspired by, emerging studies at this energy scale. Electron volt spectrometers have undergone continuous improvements since the construction of the first prototype instruments, but in the last decade major breakthroughs have been accomplished in terms of resolution and counting statistics, leading, for example, to the direct measurement of the proton 3-D Born-Oppenheimer potential in any material, or to quantitatively probe nuclear quantum effects in hydrogen bonded systems. This paper reports on the most effective methods and concepts for energy analysis and detection, as well as devices for the optimization of electron volt spectrometers for different applications. This is set in the context of the progress made up to date in instrument development. Starting from early stages of development of the technique, particular emphasis will be given to the Vesuvio eV spectrometer at the ISIS neutron source, the first spectrometer where extensive scientific, as well as research and development programmes have been carried out. The potential offered by this type of instrumentation, from single particle excitations to momentum distribution studies, is then put in perspective into the emerging fields of eV spectroscopy applied to cultural heritages and neutron irradiation effects in electronics.