Calculation of the intercrystalline-interference contribution to the scattering of x rays by arrays of small crystallites

A general equation for the calculation of the intercrystalline-interference contribution to the scattering of x rays by arrays of small crystallites has been derived under the assumption that there is no correlation between the orientations of neighboring crystallites. Numerical calculations for the case of silicon are presented. It is shown that these intercrystalline-interference terms are significantly smaller than the intracrystalline terms in all but the small-angle regions. Hence, conclusions reached by Moss and Graczyk about the inability to describe the diffraction pattern of vitreous silicon in terms of microcrystalline silicon are supported. Unfortunately, the assumption of ``no correlation'' limits the general validity of conclusions drawn from the calculation.