The huber G670 imaging-plate Guinier camera tested on beamline I711 at the MAX II synchrotron

A Huber G670 imaging-plate Guinier powder diffraction camera has been tested at an X-ray synchrotron source. It was found to be a very potent tool, offering an unusual combination of high angular resolution and short data collection time, while using very small amounts of sample. Specifically, it was found that: (i) the angular resolution (full width at half-maximum) varies between 0.07 and 0.15 degrees in 2 theta without focusing, i.e. relying on a parallel synchrotron beam; (ii) with a readout and erasure cycle time of 15 s, it is possible to obtain Rietveld-refinable data within less than a minute for a low-symmetry zeolite refined with 82 parameters; (iii) special attention has to be given to calibration of the detector and some general geometrical correction factors should he included in the data reduction. (C) 2000 International Union of Crystallography Printed in Great Britain - all rights reserved.