Refinements in the collection of energy filtered diffraction patterns from disordered materials

In this paper a method for collecting electron diffraction patterns using a Gatan imaging filter is presented. The method enables high-quality diffraction data to be measured at scattering angles comparable to those that can be obtained using X-ray and neutron diffraction. In addition, the method offers the capability for examining small regions of sample in, for example, thin films and nano-structures. Using X-ray, neutron and electron diffraction data collected from the same sample, we demonstrate quantitative agreement between all three. We also present a novel method for obtaining the single scattering contribution to the total diffracted intensity by collecting data at various electron wavelengths. This approach allows pair distribution functions to be determined from electron diffraction in cases where there exists significant multiple scattering.