The effect of surface damage on the intensity of X-rays diffracted by ground spherical single crystals

Integrated intensities from ground spherical single crystals of silicon, zinc sulphide, and calcium fluoride before and after etching are compared. The surface damage of the unetched crystals, apparent on scanning electron micrographs, is shown to give rise to a very appreciable enhancement of the X-ray Bragg intensities. A possible explanation for physically unrealistic phenomenological extinction parameters reported in the literature is suggested.