Rietveld refinement using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data collected in transmission geometry using an imaging-plate detector: Application to standard m-ZrO2

The results of Rietveld refinements using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data collected in transmission mode with a new flat imaging-plate (IF) technique agree with those obtained from other techniques. m-ZrO2 was chosen as test compound because it was the standard selected by the Commission on Powder Diffraction of the International Union of Crystallography for a round robin of Rietveld refinement using data obtained by different techniques and from different laboratories [Hill & Cranswick (1994). J. Appl. Cryst. 27, 802-844]. For comparison, new data were also collected using a gas-filled position-sensitive detector. Powder diffraction using a flat IP detector requires a modification to the geometric term of the Lorentz factor and the zero-shift correction. Other factors that were accurately taken into account are the polarization of the synchrotron beam, the angle-dependent variations induced by the use of a flat detector and the absorption.