INES Italian Neutron Experimental Station: Final Installation and Preliminary Tests

The installation of the diffraction instrument in the INES blockhouse has proceeded, almost continuously, from January to May 2005. The mechanical and detection parts have been assembled and put in place, the data acquisition electronics, as well as the standard security interlocks, have been set-up and made operative. All the controls have been connected to the main computer in the experimental cabin. Preliminary data acquisitions have been carried out on standard calibrating samples and have been processed in order to perform an instrument calibration and obtain a preliminary estimate of the resolving power. Further refinements on the acquisition electronics and more commissioning measurements are scheduled in second half of the year 2005.