Darwin's dynamical theory of X-ray diffraction is extended to the case of lateral (i.e., having a finite length in the lateral direction) crystalline structures. This approach allows one to calculate rocking curves as well as reciprocal-space maps for lateral crystalline structures having a rectangular cross section. Numerical modelling is performed for these structures with different lateral sizes. It is shown that the kinematical approximation is valid for thick crystalline structures having a small length in the lateral direction.
Keywords: Darwin's dynamical theory; X-ray diffraction; lateral crystals; lateral structures; reciprocal-space maps.