Advanced Certificate in Powder Diffraction on the Web Chapter 3 School of Crystallography, Birkbeck College, University of London

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Aims & Objectives

The aim of this chapter is provide you with details of the experimental setup used in the laboratory for powder diffraction experiments. It is intended to be a broad guide to the subject. In particular, the photographs of the various experimental setups are based on those available in our laboratories and are not intended to be an endorsement for any particular manufacturer of laboratory X-ray equipment (e.g. as given in the external links). Specific objectives are listed below:

• You will learn about the theory and practice of X-ray generation, and how the X-ray spectrum can be modified by the use of filters and monochromators.
• You will learn about X-ray optics and how it influences the design of various powder diffractometers.
• You will discover how samples are prepared and mounted.
• Finally, you will learn some aspects of data acquisition. This section is not intended to be exhaustive since a more detailed treatment of this subject will be given in later parts of the course.

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