P. Fertey et F. Sayetat, A NEW HIGH-RESOLUTION X-RAY-POWDER DIFFRACTOMETER WORKING IN THE 3-470 K RANGE FOR PHASE-TRANSITION ANALYSES, Journal of applied crystallography, 29, 1996, pp. 692-699
A high-resolution X-ray powder diffractometer is described with a sour
ce operating from 3 to 470 K. The optical design and mechanical arrang
ement of the diffractometer and the cryostat are optimized to provide
easy (re)alignment procedures and high accuracy when the wavelength, t
he sample or the temperature is changed. The apparatus has been tested
for peak-position accuracy, angular sensitivity and resolution (using
standard materials). The tests assess the overall performance of the
instrument, which is comparable to (or slightly better than) the best
commercial instruments, but clearly excels over them because these per
formances are the same over the whole temperature range (3-470 K), all
owing very accurate determination of the lattice parameters and crysta
l structure.