Denver Diffraction Conference

The 42nd Annual Denver X-ray Conference was held in Denver, CO, August 2-6, 1993. The conference began with tutorial workshops on thin film characterization, measurement of strains, specifications for X-ray instruments, sample preparation, XRD instruction, use of synchrotron radiation sources, computer search/matching. parallel beam and microbeam optics, and laboratory quality control.

The plenary session covered the impact of the personal computer in X-ray analysis. The Barrett Award for XRD was presented to R. Jenkins. A workshop on the use of synchrotron sources for X-ray analysis covered applications to current problems in materials science and characterization. Two of the instructors, M. Hart (Manchester University, UK) and K. Jones (Brookhaven National Laboratory, US) chaired a session entitled "Synchrotron Applications in X-ray Analysis". Measurements of thin films and multilayer surfaces were discussed as well as micro tomographic investigations of several types of materials, including individual cells in tissue samples. A new high-resolution/high-sensitivity image plate detector system developed at Daresbury is being used to investigate heretofore unknown high pressure phases of several semiconducting materials. Several groups are developing optics for microfocusing the synchrotron beam in order to investigate smaller areas of inhomogeneous materials. Many of these presentations will be published in a forthcoming issue of Advances in X-ray Analysis. Other scientific sessions included: Practical Applications of Full-Pattern Analysis; Advances in Detectors and Counting Electronics; Characterization of Thin Films; Polymer Application; High Volume X-ray Analysis; Stress Determination; Total Reflection XRF; Instrumentation; Analytical Microfluorescence; and Advances in Search-Match Methods for Phase Identification.