Automated processing of electron diffraction data

An Electron Diffraction Identification Program has been developed to process VAX 11/780 electron diffraction data files. The Program is automated to select sets of three and then five diffraction spots, satisfying operator-selected linearity and spacing conditions. A crystallographic reference file allows an automatic specimen identification, which is CRT-displayed to an operator, while all pertinent information is recorded into an output file. It is noted that the program effectively does away with the extremely time-consuming tasks which normally must be performed using conventional analysis methods. The program allows identification of specimens without the highly specialized knowledge of the electron diffraction pattern analysis. In addition, the program shortens considerably the specimen identification time expended