Neutron diffraction and in general neutron scattering techniques are linked with the necessity of usage of the limited number of neutron sources. Event with this disadvantage the neutron diffraction techniques showed their importance in the research of different kind from biology to the material science. Summarization of the advantages of the neutron diffraction techniques brings the overall picture of research fields that can profit from them. The important complementarity of X-ray and neutron powder diffraction technique will be demonstrated on real examples when neutrons are indispensable to solve a structural problem despite difficulties connected with arranging for a neutron experiment.
The main field where neutron diffraction plays an indispensable role is a determination of the magnetic structure of materials. Examples of solved interesting magnetic structures will be given together with a general introduction to the identification of the magnetic contribution.
An overview of neutron sources within Europe available for Czech users will be presented. Their limited number has been decreasing. Nevertheless, users can take advantage of the local neutron source LVR-15 in Øež (research reactor operated by CV Øež) at which Neutron Physics Laboratory of the CANAM infrastructure (http://canam.ujf.cas.cz/) provides open access to its neutron diffractometers to academic users. Special attention will also be paid to the new neutron spallation source ESS (https://europeanspallationsource.se/) which is presently being built in Lund, Sweden. 3He is widely used as a converting medium in neutron detectors for its high neutron cross-section. In the past several years there is a shortage of the amount of 3He available for scientific purposes and the price increase. Due to this fact, new neutron detecting strategies were developed and attracted much of the interest. Short overview in the new neutron detectors will be presented to show the latest possibilities in this field.