File:Electron diffraction Laue-zone tilt-series.gif

English: This figure examines in detail a visualization commonly seen in the transmission electron microscope, when tilting a crystal while viewing a wide-angle electron diffraction pattern.

Here we tilt a simple cubic direct (and reciprocal) lattice from 0 to 12 degrees away from its [100] zone in steps of 1.5 degrees, and then back, about a tilt axis that runs from lower left to upper right. The shortest d-spacing is 2 Angstroms, and the field-with is about 15 reciprocal Angstroms i.e. covers much more angular width than a standard SAED pattern e.g. only a few reciprocal Angstroms across.

The zero-order Laue-zone (the ZOLZ is yellow in this illustration) always sends its brightness band through the center of the pattern i.e. the DC-peak. Higher-order Laue zones are concentric at zero tilt, but increase their radius while moving off center to the upper left as the specimen is tilted.

The first (LOLZ-1 is orange) and then second (LOLZ-2 is red) lower-order Laue-zones literally pop up as growing circular patches in the upper left corner near 7.5 and then near 10.5 degrees tilt, respectively, as these lower-layer reciprocal lattice points make contact with the Ewald sphere.

Only higher order Laue zones (starting with the green HOLZ-1) make contact with the Ewald sphere at the calculated tilts below 7.5 degrees. In this context also: HOLZ-2 is cyan, HOLZ-3 is turquoise, HOLZ-4 is blue, HOLZ-5 is indigo and HOLZ-6 is pink.