Micro-focus single crystal X-ray diffractometer

所提出的x射线衍射仪是一种在室温和高压、高温条件下测定单晶原子结构的装置。该机器是现有的两个传统的单晶衍射仪的替代品，更换部件不再可用。新设备将有一个更强的x射线源，因此它将有可能确定小至8-10微米的单晶的单晶参数和晶体结构，大约比传统的衍射仪小一个数量级。衍射仪将位于拜罗伊特大学的Bayerisches地质研究所（BGI）。华大基因的研究人员研究地球内部的物理和化学，主要使用实验方法，通常涉及高压和高温技术的应用。新衍射仪的作用将是双重的。首先是表征新发现的结晶相，其中大部分将在华大基因的高压和高温实验中产生。这种晶体通常是通过压力引发的相变形成的，并且通常可以恢复到室温压力并表征。然而，随着华大基因的科学家们不断突破可实现条件的边界，回收的晶体越来越小，为了表征它们的晶体结构，需要更强、更聚焦的x射线。其次，华大基因的科学家还专注于确定压力和温度如何影响矿物相的密度及其弹性特性，这对于理解地幔动力学和解释地球内部的地震速度变化是必要的。这可以通过在金刚石砧细胞内压缩单晶的原位x射线衍射测量来实现。还将开发激光加热系统，以便在进行x射线衍射测量时，将高温应用于金刚石砧细胞内的单晶。为了开发这两种应用，需要有两种不同配置的自定义衍射仪。

The proposed X-ray diffractometer is a device for determining the atomic structure of single crystals both at room conditions and at high-pressures and temperatures. The machine is a replacement for two existing traditional single crystal diffractometers for which replacement parts are no longer available. The new device would have a more intense X-ray source so that it will be possible to determine unit cell parameters and crystal structures for single crystals as small as 8-10 micrometres, about an order of magnitude smaller than traditional diffractometers. The diffractometer would be located at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut (BGI) of the university of Bayreuth. Researchers at the BGI investigate the physics and chemistry of the Earth’s interior, mainly using experimental methods that often involve the application of high pressure and temperature technology. The role of the new diffractometer would be two-fold. The first would be to characterise newly discovered crystalline phases, the majority of which would be produced at the BGI in high pressure and temperature experiments. Such crystals generally formed through pressure instigated phase transitions and can most often be recovered to room pressure and characterised. As BGI scientists push the frontiers of achievable conditions, however, recovered crystals are increasingly smaller, and to characterise their crystal structures requires more intense and focused X-rays. Secondly, BGI scientists are also focused on determining how pressure and temperature affect the densities of mineral phases and their elastic properties, knowledge of which is necessary for understanding mantle dynamics and interpreting seismic velocity variations inside the Earth. This can be achieved through in situ X-ray diffraction measurements of single crystals compressed inside a diamond anvil cell. A laser heating system would also be developed so that high temperatures can be applied to single crystals inside the diamond anvil cell while X-ray diffraction measurements are being performed. In order to develop these two applications a custom diffractometer is required having two different configurations.