Three-dimensional x-ray diffraction detection and visualization

Abstract

A new method of sensing and analyzing three-dimensional (3D) x-ray diffraction (XRD) cones was introduced. Using a two-dimensional area detector, a sequence of frames was collected while moving the detector away from the sample with small equally spaced steps and keeping all other parameters constant. A 3D dataset was created from the subsequent frames. The 3D x-ray diffraction (XRD3) pattern contains far more information than a one-dimensional profile collected with the conventional diffractometer and 2D x-ray diffraction (XRD2). The present work discusses some fundamentals about XRD3, such as the data collection method, 3D visualization, diffraction data interpretation and potential applications of XRD3.