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Anatomy of a diffractometer

Here is a graphical history of the delivery, installation and commissioning of our Huber four-circle diffractometer.

Nancy Ross unpacking the boxes of equipment on the day of delivery while some of our helpers take a break.

(from left: Brian Cook, Megan Madden and Charles Farley)
The goniometer finally installed on its table. Unfortunately there are no pictures of us man-handling the diffractometer out of the delivery van and up into the lab.

In the middle is Dave Rognlie, proprietor of Blake Industries and US agent for Huber GmbH.
The four-circle goniometer was built by Huber at their factory in Germany and was shipped to us via Blake Industries in New Jersey as a single assembled and aligned item.

Blake Industries built the tube shield stand to hold the X-ray tube (on the right). Here Dave Rognlie is shown instructing Ross on how to fit the various components together.

Next, Hal Pendrek of our department figured out how to wire the motor power supplies to the stepper motors that drive the diffractometer circles. Hal is too busy to have his photograph taken!
Also not shown in pictures(!) is the software development we did to interface the SINGLE code for four-circle diffractometers to the new motor power supplies. Our thanks to Chris H. at the Geophysical Laboratory and Bob Downs at University of Arizona for help and advice on the interfacing.

Meanwhile we built the radiation enclosure. The framing is slotted aluminium extrusion which fits together with connectors, just like a kids' construction kit. The side panels and roof are 1/8 in (1.3mm) thick stainless steel sheet, sufficient to absorb X-rays.


The diffractometer enclosure completed with doors made of radiation-proof lead-loaded plastic. The doors are electrically interlocked with the radiation shutter.

The diffractometer is seen undergoing alignment tests following radiation safety inspection.




High pressure experiments being performed with an ETH design of diamond-anvil pressure cell.