Electron diffraction
A core technique for structure studies in materials science, electron diffraction (ED) is based on analysis of the scattering of electrons directed at a sample. Similar to X-ray and neutron diffraction, electron diffraction results in an interference pattern that may be interpreted using the Bragg equation.Electron diffraction is most frequently used in solid state physics and chemistry to study the crystal structure of solids, and is more useful than X-ray diffraction for determining proton positions. Used for microdiffraction identification of crystallographic phases, ED experiments are usually performed in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). When a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used as the source, the technique is referred to as electron backscatter diffraction (EBD). Cryo-electron microscopy is also used to provide electron crystallography of membrane proteins. In all these microscopes, the electrons are accelerated by an electrostatic potential to the desired energy before they interact with a sample.
Rigaku CCD area detectors offer a number of advantages in recording electron microscope diffraction images, including: high speed data collection, wide dynamic range, excellent linearity and high quantum efficiency for recording electrons.
Solutions
- Single chip CCD detectors: Mercury 2, Saturn 724, Saturn 944+
- Mosaic large area CCD detectors: Saturn A200