Diffraction is the deviation from a straight path that occurs when a wave such as light or sound passes around an obstacle or through an opening. The importance of diffraction in any particular situation depends on the relative size of the obstacle or...

It is commonly thought that light travels in a straight line. In fact, light is a wave, and, like all waves, it can be made to bend around corners and obstacles. This bending of light is called diffraction. Diffraction is a phenomenon found in all...

Alteration in the otherwise normal path of an electromagnetic wave, such as a wave of light or acoustic wave, caused by the contact or influence of an obstacle. A diffracted light wave can either be deviated from its course (such as by passing at an...

Diffraction refers to various phenomena associated with the bending of waves when they interact with obstacles in their path. It occurs with any type of wave, including sound waves, water waves, and electromagnetic waves such as visible light, x-rays...

MEMS are small, microfabricated devices that are finding application in a variety of industries in both analytical and manufacturing settings. This paper reviews the properties of diffractive MEMS devices and examines their application in chemical spectroscopy. The MEMS acronym, short for micro-electro-mechanical systems,...

Although less common than x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD) currently is garnering more interest due to both recent technological advances and the high-profile pharmaceutical applications for which it is suited. XRD technology is based upon the diffraction of x-rays off of atoms...