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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

High Pressure Single Crystal Diffraction at PX^2
Published on: January 16, 2017
An ultrahigh-vacuum chamber for surface X-ray diffraction
C L Nicklin1, J S Taylor, N Jones
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
Abstract:
An ultrahigh-vacuum environmental chamber for surface X-ray diffraction on Station 9.4 at the Synchrotron Radiation Source, Daresbury Laboratory, is described. Film growth can be monitored by simultaneously recording the Auger signal and the X-ray intensity at a particular point in reciprocal space. Such in situ measurements are essential for understanding the dynamic processes that occur during adsorption. An example is given in which the specularly reflected X-ray signal is correlated with Auger plots, during growth of Tl on Cu(001). In addition, the diffractometer and chamber combination allow large reconstructions to be investigated as shown by the in-plane structural analysis of the c(4x4) InSb surface. A study of the layer structure of Cr on Ag(001), in which an extended out-of-plane detector assembly was used, is also presented.
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