2. Experimental setups and configurations

A diffractometer consists of five main components:

• an X-ray source;

• optical components in the path of the incident beam;

• optical components in the path of the diffracted beam;

• a detector;

• a goniometer that allows these different parts to be moved.

The relative error in the measured intensity decreases as the measurement time increases, or with an increase of several orders of magnitude in the brightness of the incident flux. Recent technologies have therefore sought to improve both the brightness of the sources and the sensitivity of the detectors.