A new method of highly accurate orientation of single crystals on a standard powder diffractometer

Abstract

A new method of obtaining high accuracy in a diffractometer refinement of a single-crystal orientation is presented in this paper. The primary errors in goniometer orientations are caused by the fact that, whereas the measurement required is the angle between the atomic plane and the plate face, goniometers in general measure the angle between the atomic plane and a plane defined by the goniometer, which is not necessarily parallel to the plate face. The methods of correcting for these inaccuracies associated with the goniometer orientations that have been used and cited so far are based on the laser-assisted system described by Vig [Proc. 29th Annual Symposium on Frequency Control (1975), pp. 240–247]. The method described in this paper allows one to eliminate these errors by a specially invented method of measurements and calculations without a laser-assisted system or any other additional instruments.