A simple and inexpensive capillary furnace for variable-temperature X-ray diffraction

An inexpensive capillary furnace has been developed for variable-temperature X-ray diffraction in transmission geometry of air-stable liquid crystals and other materials. It offers temperature control with fluctuations of less than ±1 K in the range of interest for these samples, from room temperature to near 573 K. Phases can be accessed through heating or cooling with no significant overshooting of the target temperature. The furnace is designed to fit on a classical goniometer, and can be controlled by any standard temperature controller. The simple design of this furnace means that it is both inexpensive to build and easy to operate.