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Design guidelines for an electron diffractometer for structural chemistry and structural biology
Author(s) -
Heidler Jonas,
Pantelic Radosav,
Wennmacher Julian T. C.,
Zaubitzer Christian,
Fecteau-Lefebvre Ariane,
Goldie Kenneth N.,
Müller Elisabeth,
Holstein Julian J.,
van Genderen Eric,
De Carlo Sacha,
Gruene Tim
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
acta crystallographica section d
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.374
H-Index - 138
ISSN - 2059-7983
DOI - 10.1107/s2059798319003942
Subject(s) - diffractometer , diffraction , optics , detector , electron diffraction , reflection high energy electron diffraction , electron crystallography , computer science , electron , materials science , physics , scanning electron microscope , nuclear physics
3D electron diffraction has reached a stage where the structures of chemical compounds can be solved productively. Instrumentation is lagging behind this development, and to date dedicated electron diffractometers for data collection based on the rotation method do not exist. Current studies use transmission electron microscopes as a workaround. These are optimized for imaging, which is not optimal for diffraction studies. The beam intensity is very high, it is difficult to create parallel beam illumination and the detectors used for imaging are of only limited use for diffraction studies. In this work, the combination of an EIGER hybrid pixel detector with a transmission electron microscope to construct a productive electron diffractometer is described. The construction not only refers to the combination of hardware but also to the calibration of the system, so that it provides rapid access to the experimental parameters that are necessary for processing diffraction data. Until fully integrated electron diffractometers become available, this describes a setup for productive and efficient operation in chemical crystallography.