Structure of disordered materials studied by high-energy x-ray diffraction technique

With the arrival of the third generation of synchrotron sources and/or the introduction of advanced insertion devices (wigglers and undulators), the high energy (E > 50 keV) x-ray diffraction technique has become feasible, leading to new approaches in the quantitative study of the structure of disordered materials than was hither to available. Since we built the SPring-8 bending magnet beamline BL04B2 and two-axis diffractometer for disordered materials in 1999, we have studied on disordered materials from ambient to extreme condition. In this article, the high-energy x-ray diffraction beamline BL04B2 of SPring-8 and recent developments of ancillary equipment (automatic sample changer, conventional high-temperature furnace, aerodynamic levitation furnace) are introduced. Furthermore the structural analysis on the basis of diffraction data with the aid of computer simulations, which we performed in the last 10 years is reviewed.