ABSTRACT

X-ray diffraction is an important tool as a structural probe for condensed matter on atomic length scales. Since its early beginning, it allowed for structural determination of a wide variety of materials such as hard-and soft-condensed matter. Inherent in conventional X-ray diffraction experiments is an ensemble averaging process over the illuminated volume of the sample. The measured structure factor S(Q) is such an ensemble averaged quantity according to S Q Q Q E( ) ( ) *( )= < > r r with r( )Q denoting the Fourier transform of the sample’s electron density r(r) and Q is the wave vector transfer. Quite often, such an averaging process is desirable as it allows atomic-scale quantities to be measured over a region of micro-to millimeters with great statistical precision. However, the incoherent averaging process leads to a loss of information, which is not desirable whenever samples are, for example, nonperiodic or evolve in time.