X-ray linear dichroism in an α,ω-dibromoalkane/urea inclusion compound and its application to polarization analysis of magnetic diffraction

We report the first polarization analysis of magnetic x-ray diffraction using a dichroic polarization analyser. The alpha, omega-dibromoalkane/urea inclusion compounds are shown to produce highly effective dichroic filters for fixed-wavelength (bromine K-edge) applications. We discuss the dichroic properties of these materials and show that devices which exploit linear dichroism can offer some important advantages over diffraction-based polarization analysers.