X-RAY-POWDER CRYSTALLOGRAPHY WITH VERTEX INSTRUMENTATION

An X-ray Diffractometer for Powder Crystallography is described along with experimental results and future plans. This is an intermediate in strument toward a long linear array system. Three channels of a silico n microstrip detector, are the detecting elements in the present instr ument. Each detector channel is followed by a VLSI readout chain, whic h consists of a charge preamplifier with pulse shaping circuitry, a di scriminator, and a 16-bit counter. Control and data acquisition is per formed with a custom made PC readout card. A motorized goniometer scan s the angle range of interest. Calibration of the system is done with reference samples and data which are captured with a one-channel conve ntional NaI detector. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.