Powder diffraction and synchrotron radiation

Abstract

Powder diffraction is one of the fundamental techniques for the investigation of materials. Its sensitivity to long range order makes it ideal for the identification, quantification and structural characterization of crystalline phases. Powder diffraction experiments performed at synchrotron sources make ample use of the intrinsic characteristics of synchrotron radiation in terms of energy tunability, brilliance, natural divergence, and excellent signal/noise ratio. Synchrotron radiation powder diffraction (SR-PD) enhances and optimizes the traditional applications of laboratory XRPD, such as phase identification, phase quantification, texture analysis, and peak broadening analysis in terms of stress/strain. However, the properties of the synchrotron X-rays also allow a number of experiments not accessible with laboratory sources, especially in terms of time-resolution, the use of non-ambient sample environments, and simultaneous and combined experiments. The mapping of the physical, chemical, and crystallographic properties of the sample in 2D and 3D using smart combinations of diffraction + imaging + spectroscopy is the natural current evolution of many synchrotron instruments, and one that is bound to have a great impact on many aspects of materials studies.