Single crystal diffraction harnesses X-ray, neutron, or electron beams to study a crystal’s atomic structure. By analysing the resulting diffraction patterns, it can reveal hidden details, such as atomic positions, bond lengths, and angles.
However, radiation may ionize atoms, disrupt crystal lattices, and degrade sample quality, especially for sensitive or organic materials. It is for this reason that sample cooling is often employed to minimize radiation damage and preserve the sample’s integrity during the experiment.
Open-Flow Cooling
Open-Flow Coolers like the Cryostream and Cobra can cool samples down to 80 K, minimizing thermal vibrations and resulting in sharper diffraction patterns and better signal-to-noise ratios. This improves atomic position determination and facilitates the study of phase transitions and weakly diffracting materials.
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