Abstract
A heating stage for an x-ray diffractometer is a valuable aid, and sometimes an essential tool, for investigations of the high temperature x-ray powder-diffraction properties of solids.
We have designed a simple and convenient stage which can be easily aligned in the x-ray beam and which will hold the alignment at all operating temperatures. The stage can be conveniently used to 1400° C., with a temperature control of ±1° C. up to 1000° C. and ±5° C. or better up to 1400° C. Maximum thermal gradients of 2° C./cm at 1000° C. occur across the surface of the sample. Temperatures can be changed and stabilized rapidly and are accurately measured at the center of the irradiated specimen.
X-ray measurements are performed rapidly and to the same accuracy and resolution as standard x-ray diffractometer measurements performed at room temperature. The stage can be operated in a vacuum or in a noncorrosive gas atmosphere.
