The goniometer heating shield protects the sample goniostat from icing when on-axis cryo-cooling is used for x-ray diffraction data collection.

The heating shield is installed on a goniometer head between the sample and the phi rotation axis. It protects the phi axis hardware from over cooling and ice formation. The heating shield has a cone shape for reduction of turbulence. A ball bearing and washer are used to enable the shield to rotate freely preventing the wiring to wind around the rotation shaft. The heating shield is held on the goniometer by a 0.235 inch diameter shaft that is slip fit though this bearing (not included). The sample goniometer is also not included. The heating shield is black anodized. Other colors are available for large scale orders. Contact Richard Howells for more information on custom orders. The heating shield contains a printed-circuit heating element on a flexible kapton-aluminum substrate and a T-type thermocouple for temperature regulation.

The heating element may be connected to a 12V, 1 A power supply through a temperature limiting switch. A switch controller should monitor the thermocouple signal and switch off power to the heating element if the shield temperature reading reaches above 50 degrees Celsius. (The thermocouple is attached to the inner side of the shield so the outside surface temperature may differ significantly.)