Experimental phase determination of the structure factor from Kossel line profile

Area of Science:

• Crystallography
• Materials Science
• X-ray Physics

Background:

• Kossel lines, generated by X-ray diffraction in single crystals, theoretically contain complete crystallographic information.
• Determining the phase of structure factors from Kossel line profiles has been a long-standing challenge.
• Previous experimental realization of phase determination from Kossel line profiles was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate the direct determination of crystal structure phases from Kossel line profiles.
• To highlight the potential of this technique for materials characterization under extreme conditions.
• To showcase the compatibility with advanced X-ray sources like X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs).

Main Methods:

• Generation of Kossel lines from point X-ray sources within a single crystal.
• Analysis of the Kossel line profiles to extract phase information of structure factors.
• Experimental validation of phase determination from line profiles.

Main Results:

• Successful experimental demonstration of direct phase determination from Kossel line profiles.
• Confirmation that Kossel line profiles encode crystallographic phase information.
• Established a method applicable to stationary samples for parallel measurement of diffraction lines.

Conclusions:

• The experimental determination of phases from Kossel line profiles is now feasible.
• This technique offers significant advantages for studying materials under extreme conditions (high pressure, temperature, magnetic fields, short timescales).
• The method is well-suited for efficient utilization of next-generation X-ray sources, such as X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs).