Course C - Diffraction Flashcards
what is a wave
the movement of energy but not matter from one place to another through an oscillation
what is wave interference
when two waves meet at a point they interfere, the displacement at any point is equal to the sum of the displacements of the individual waves
two special cases:
- constructive interference: Δ = nλ, phase diff. = 2pi, max amplitude wave formed
- destructive interference, Δ = (n+1/2)λ, phase diff. = pi, no wave
what occurs in single slit diffraction
- when a planar wave passes through a slit, the wave spreads out and we get circular wavefronts
- this is because slit gives secondary source of waves (infinite wavelets (Huygens))
- these interfere to form sinc function on a screen
what occurs in double slit diffraction
- now there are two spherical wavefronts which interfere continuously forming an interference pattern on a detector
- we obtain equally spaced maxima spreading out with decreasing intensity from centre
nλ = d sinθ
what occurs with diffraction from a 1D diffraction grating
- same idea as for double slit
what occurs with diffraction from a 2D diffraction grating
- assume grating of vertical dimension a and horizontal dimension b
- the horizontal slits are responsible for forming vertical maxima
- the vertical slits are responsible for forming horizontal maxima
- we end up with 2D spacing of spots/maxima
- the maxima separation vertically = 1/a
- maxima separation horizontally = 1/b
- similar things occur for non-rectangular shaped gratings
give the thin lens equation for optical microscopes
1/f = 1/u + 1/v
f = distance from lens to back focal plane, focal length
u = distance from object to lens
v = distance from lens to image
state Abbe’s theorem
“To resolve a diffraction grating of slit separation d then at least two beams should enter the lens, the image is effectively formed by the interference of the diffracted beams and the direct beam at the image plane”
approximately, what is the smallest feature which can be resolved by an optical microscope
λ
explain the production of X-rays
- large PD placed over a filament, heats up, electrons emitted by thermionic emission
- V large PD placed between the filament and a target metal, cathode, this causes the electrons to accelerate towards the target metal
- they collide with the metal and two mechanisms occur:
1) the deceleration of electrons through multiple inelastic collisions produces a continuous spectrum of X-rays, Bremsstrahlung radiation
2) some of the incident electrons will remove electrons from shells around an atom, this causes higher energy electrons to drop down to take their place and in the process they release a photon of X-ray frequency, this produces a characteristic spectrum
how/why do we filter the spectrum of X-rays produced
- we often don’t want the different λ’s of the continuous or characteristic spectrum
To avoid this we use a filtering material:
-these are materials that absorb different λ C-rays different amounts and usually have a sharp ‘drop-off’
- we want this drop off absorption edge to be just below the λ we want to keep
- for Cu k-alpha we use Ni
how can X-rays be detected
Historically: Photographic film
Now GM counters or semiconductors or scintillator materials
how can we derive the Bragg equation
- model the crystal as containing planes of atoms and consider the X-rays as being reflected by these planes
- think about two rays entering a material and being reflected off of two adjacent planes
- calculate the phase difference using sinθ and the interplanar spacing, this gives
nλ = 2d(hkl)sinθ
what do we mean when we say diffraction from the (200) plane of single primitive crystal
- clearly no X-rays can be diffracted from (200) in a primitive crystal as there are no atoms to diffract from
- what it actually is, is the second order diffraction from the (100) planes, i.e. where n=2
what is the only information we need about a single crystal to be able to calculate Bragg angles for a single crystal
lattice parameter and wavelength of light
How are Bragg angles generally measured for single crystals in a diffractometer
- generally when changing θ to observe different diffractions, it is easier to have a fixed source and move both the sample and detector
NOTE: the sample and detector must be rotated by different amounts, a 1:2 gear ratio must be used
what must we be careful of when measuring diffraction from planes in a single crystal (angles of sample)
- if the normal of the (100) plane is in the plane of the source and the detector, then only {100} like planes can be detected
- if it is not e.g. (111) then it cannot be measured using a simple diffractometer setup
- either the sample must be rotated through an angle or the detector must be out of the plane
what occurs in powder diffraction
- if rather than a single crystal we have many small crystals all oriented randomly (powder)
- because of the random orientations, some grains will have the correct orientation to diffract from a certain set of planes
- this means for a single through beam and no rotation of the sample, there will be reflections from many different planes
- given the only restriction is the angle on reflection, not the plane, we end up with cones of max. intensity, Debye-Scherrer cones
how can we observe the Debye- Scherrer cones (3)
Using a flat sheet of photographic paper:
- we obtain concentric circles
- the through beam must be stopped using a beam stop
- the setup does limit observable angles
Debye-Scherrer camera:
- ribbon of photographic film is wrapped around the sample
- resulting film shows entrance and exit, distance between corresponds to 180 degrees
- curved lines can be viewed on the ribbon and distances measured to obtain data on the diffraction angle
Electric diffractometer:
- measure intensity on single path through 180 degrees
- results plotted electronically
considering pure bcc, what are the systematic absences and why
- (100), there is a plane of atoms between each (100) plane so this gives destructive interference and hence that plane doesn’t show up
- (111) is absent for the same reason
considering pure fcc, what are the systematic absences and why
- (100) is absent as there is a plane of atoms between each (100) plane, this gives destructive interference with the (100) planes themselves and hence there’s no peak
- (110) is absent for the same reason
are there any systematic absences in cubic p
no