Diffuse scattering in random-stacking hexagonal close-packed crystals of colloidal hard spheres

Microradian X-ray diffraction from sedimentary colloidal crystals is studied using synchrotron radiation with photon energies of 12.4, 27, and 38 keV. Stacking disorder in these hard-sphere crystals leads to diffuse X-ray scattering along the Bragg scattering rods normal to the randomly stacked layers. We observed the appearance of diffuse scattering, shown to be induced by multiple scattering, along the secondary Bragg rods in between the stacking-independent true Bragg reflections. This effect can be reduced by measuring at higher X-ray energies.