Neutron Diffraction

This article provides a brief introduction to neutron diffraction as well as its state-of-the-art capabilities. The discussion covers the general principles of the neutron, neutron-scattering theory, generation of neutrons, types of incident radiation, and purposes of single-crystal neutron diffraction, powder diffraction, and pair distribution function analysis. The relationship between detector space and reciprocal space are presented. Various factors involved in sample preparation, calibration, and techniques used for analyzing diffraction data are described. The article also presents application examples and possible future developments in neutron diffraction.