Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2013
An X-ray detector chain consisting of a Xe-filled proportional detector followed by a pulse height analyzer tuned to 8.1 keV may register energies between 5 and 45 keV, although with a low efficiency at the edges. For diffraction experiments on single-crystalline substrates, these diffracted intensities can be significant. In the high-energy range, regions of even higher intensity are found due to the so-called escape process. In the diffraction angle scan of an (001) oriented Si single-crystal measured with a low (fixed) incidence angle, we have identified 21 peaks, originating from three different diffraction processes: diffraction from white radiation, diffraction observed via an escape process, and crystal truncation rod scattering. These peaks interfere with diffraction studies if such a single crystal is used as a substrate for polycrystalline samples. A great reduction in the substrate background and removal of most of the substrate diffraction peaks is achieved with a graphite monochromator or with a graphite monochromator together with a β-filter.