Use of YB66 as monochromator crystals for soft-energy EXAFS

YB66(400) crystals present a new advance in monochromator crystals suitable for use at energies below 2 keV. In this paper a comparison of their performance with that provided by the more usual beryl and quartz crystals, which cover the same energy range, is presented. In general, the YB66 crystals are much superior; however, they do exhibit a pair of large 'crystal glitch'-type features in the 1380-1440 eV region. These fall in the Mg K-EXAFS region and so can present a serious problem in studies of this edge for a wide range of materials. An important class of materials so afflicted are magnesium-substituted aluminophosphate molecular sieves (zeolites), which are used in many applications, in particular as solid acid catalysts for conversion of methanol to hydrocarbon.