Influence of Scanning Parameters on X-Ray Diffraction Peaks of Copper

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the influence of x-ray diffractometer scanning parameters on the integrated intensity and full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of copper powder x-ray diffraction peaks by using statistical analysis methods. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the copper powder was accomplished using step scan mode with step sizes of 0.03o and 0.05o 2q, and preset time changes from 0.1-3.5 s. Integrated intensity of an x-ray peak was calculated by the numerical method. FWHM was measured as the width of Pearson VII model of the x-ray peak at the half-maximum intensity. The statistical analysis methods including linear regression and statistical hypothesis test were used to analyze the correlation between the preset time and the error on integrated intensity calculation, and the FWHM of a peak on the XRD pattern. The results from statistical analysis show that increasing the preset time from 0.1 s to 3.5 s does not affect the FWHM of an x-ray peak, but it reduces the relative error in integrated intensity calculation. Moreover, using the preset time greater than 1 s will minimize the relative error in integrated intensity calculation of an x-ray peak. While step size did not affect both the relative error in integrated intensity calculation or FWHM, the smaller step size would provide more data points for better accurate model of an x-ray peak.