A solution of the X-ray `phase problem'

The phases of X-ray reflections are lost in the diffraction process in conventional two-beam diffraction. It is shown that the phases are not lost when three beams diffract simultaneously, and that phase information can be extracted from knowledge of the spatial distribution of the diffracted intensities about the three-beam point. In centrosymmetric crystals, the distribution is a sensitive function of the invariant phase of the product of the structure factors involved in simultaneous diffraction. High-resolution divergent-beam photographs illustrating the intensity differences associated with positive and negative triplet-phase products are shown.