The proposed experiment centres on the characterization of diamond wafers at CLS-BMIT, used to carry out fundamental nuclear physics (properties of the strong nuclear force) at Jefferson Lab, USA. Thin diamond targets with narrow whole-crystal rocking curves are needed to produce beams of linearly polarized photons in the 8-10 GeV energy range at Jefferson Lab for the GlueX experiment, in which the authors of this proposal are active participants. The crystal structure factor that determines the peak intensity and polarization in coherent bremsstrahlung at such energies is the same one that is measured in X-ray diffraction at 10-20 keV, which makes X-ray diffraction imaging an ideal way to determine the performance that a radiator will have in the high-energy photon source. Single-crystal rocking curve measurements of large-area CVD diamonds are proposed to be carried out at CLS-BMIT. This proposal requests a brief run to test three new samples, ranging in thickness from 80-250 microns. The rocking curves of the thick samples will show whether the plastic deformation is intrinsic to the material or whether it is introduced during the machining (thinning) process.
