Practicality of Etched Quartz Crystals for X-Ray Spectrometers

Abstract

With a vacuum two-crystal spectrometer the (1, −1) curves of etched quartz, etched calcite and relatively poor calcite cleavage surfaces have been studied throughout the wave-length range 0.5 to 5 Angstroms. The widths of the curves at half maximum intensity, the percent reflection, and the coefficient of reflection have been measured. The shapes of the (1, −1) curves vary with wavelength but vary oppositely with quartz and with calcite. The study is primarily concerned with the possibilities of etched quartz as spectrometer crystals. The resolving power of x-ray spectrometers can be increased by a factor of 2 to 4 by using quartz instead of calcite but the diminution of intensity necessarily associated with such an increase in resolving power may be impractical except for studying relatively strong characteristic radiation.