Three-dimensional structure of a single colloidal crystal grain studied by coherent x-ray diffraction

TL;DR

This study uses coherent x-ray diffraction to analyze a single colloidal crystal grain in three dimensions, revealing internal defects and demonstrating a method for high-resolution structural imaging.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel application of coherent x-ray diffraction to visualize 3D internal structures and defects in a single colloidal crystal grain.

Findings

Detected a plane defect within the colloidal grain

Confirmed defect presence through model simulations

Analyzed experimental conditions for 3D phase retrieval

Abstract

A coherent x-ray diffraction experiment was performed on an isolated colloidal crystal grain at the coherence beamline P10 at PETRA III. Using azimuthal rotation scans the three-dimensional (3D) scattered intensity in reciprocal space from the sample was measured. It includes several Bragg peaks as well as the coherent interference around these peaks. The analysis of the scattered intensity reveals the presence of a plane defect in a single grain of the colloidal sample. We confirm these findings by model simulations. In these simulations we also analyze the experimental conditions to phase 3D diffraction pattern from a single colloidal grain. This approach has the potential to produce a high resolution image of the sample revealing its inner structure, with possible structural defects.