The Australian diffractometer at the Photon Factory

Outlined are design features of a versatile high‐resolution two‐axis diffractometer that is being constructed for operation at the Photon Factory as an Australian national facility. The instrument features optional use of multiple‐imaging plates on a translating cassette to allow rapid recording of an almost complete range of data covering both the high‐angle and small‐angle scattering regime or alternatively the use of electronic detectors. The instrument will be capable of operation in various modes including the following: (i) high‐resolution powder diffraction with single‐channel counter and crystal analyzer, (ii) high‐resolution, high‐speed powder diffraction in the Debye–Scherrer mode with imaging plates as recording medium, either stationary or translating (for time‐dependent studies), (iii) small‐angle x‐ray scattering with imaging plates as recording medium, (iv) protein crystallography in screenless Weissenberg mode, and (v) two‐ or three‐axis single‐crystal diffractometry. The salient features ...