McStas - Monte Carlo simulation of neutron instruments

McStas is an ongoing project to create a general tool for simulating neutron
scattering instruments. The project is conducted at Risoe National Laboratory
in cooperation with the ILL. The Risoe efforts have been funded through
multiple EU programs. 

McStas is based on a compiler that reads a high-level specification language
defining the instrument to be simulated and produces C code that performs the
Monte Carlo Simulation. The system is very fast in use, both when setting up
the instrument definition and when doing calculations.
Typical figures are 20000-50000 neutron histories per second on a fast PC. 

McStas supports triple-axis,  time-of-flight instruments, and polarised
neutrons. It comes with a comprehensive manual and a library of well-tested
components that include most standard elements of neutron scattering
instruments, including steady-state and pulsed sources,
monochromators/analysers, guides, collimators, vanadium and powder samples,
velocity selectors and choppers, and a variety of detectors. 

WWW: http://www.mcstas.org/

- Joerg Pulz
Joerg.Pulz@frm2.tum.de
