A fragment of a text written in red ink is scanned at the X-ray fluorescence analysis station of the Kurchatov synchrotron radiation facility; the element distribution in the scanned region is obtained. The possibility of imaging and reading text fragments using synchrotron radiation is proved.

A spectrometer has been developed at the beamline EXAFS-D station of the Kurchatov synchrotron-radiation source at the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center for the precision determination of relative variations in the lattice parameters of single crystals. The spectrometer allows measurements of small (up to 3 × 10⁻⁷) relative variations in the lattice parameter, which may be caused by stoichiometry violation or external actions, e.g., inverse piezoelectric effect. The method of X-ray diffraction in a geometry that is close to backscattering at angles as large as 179.5° is implemented in the spectrometer. Using a synchrotron source, it is possible to select the radiation wavelength for tuning the spectrometer to the near-backscattering diffraction geometry. The equipment of the spectrometer allows simultaneous monitoring of the lattice-parameter variation and mapping of the elemental composition over the crystal surface.

The nonuniform distribution of chemical element ratios in a crystal of nominal composition La₃(Ga_0.5Ta_0.5)Ga₅O₁₄ has been determined using X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence mapping on beamline 6.2 of the Kurchatov synchrotron radiation source “KISI-Kurchatov.” The Ga/Ta and La/Ta ratios are shown to increase from the center to the periphery of the crystal growth boule, which is accompanied by an increase in the number of oxygen vacancies leading to a decrease in piezoelectric modulus d₁₁. The study is of practical importance for the creation of materials with desired properties.