Electron diffraction studies on solid α-nitrogen

A technique was developed for studying thin films of solidified permanent gases by means of electron transmission diffraction. It was applied to the investigation of thin films of solid a-nitrogen at 4 and 20 K. The orientation of the microcrystallites on aluminum and Formvar substrates was investigated as a function of both the temperature of the substrate and the intensity of the molecular nitrogen beam during deposition. Further, the crystal structure and the cell dimensions of a-nitrogen were reinvestigated. Faults in the stacking sequence of (111) planes, detected under certain conditions, were studied in some detail. Preferential crystal growth processes were observed to be induced by electron bombardment. The influence of conditions of deposition on these processes was also investigated.