Patent ID: 7085349

Claim:
An X-ray diffractometer for analysis of a sample, the diffractometer comprising: an X-ray source emitting a line focus X-ray beam having an aspect ratio of a beam cross section, perpendicular to a propagation direction, of at least 1.5, wherein a larger extension of said beam cross section defines a line direction of said X-ray beam; an X-ray detector rotatable in a scattering plane around an axis ω intersecting the sample; and a switching device cooperating with said X-ray source to move said X-ray source into a first position in which said line direction of said X-ray beam is substantially parallel to said scattering plane and into a second position in which said line direction of said X-ray beam is substantially perpendicular to said scattering plane and substantially parallel to said axis ω, wherein a path of said X-ray beam is substantially unchanged between said first and said second positions.