(Materials Research Instrument Facility)

The Powder Diffraction Cluster of the Materials Research Instrument Facility (MRIF)

The Powder Diffraction Cluster is a facility for the examination of crystalline or partially crystalline powdered material or glass. The facility is available for routine phase identification or more complex quantitative analysis or structure refinement.

Capabilities:

There are two diffractometers in the cluster. One is a Siemens D500 run by a PC-based operating system ad data collection and analysis software. The data analysis software include the ICDD inorganic and mineral data set for phase identification. We also have the ability to determine the quantitative proportions of multiphase mixtures using a Rietveld approach. We also can refine the structure of single phase samples and, if the elements have sufficiently different scattering of X-rays, determine the chemical composition of single phases.

The second unit is a Nicolet transmission diffractometer equipped with a position sensitive detector. This unit is used for fiber, films and extremely small samples. We will be upgrading the computer and software in the near future. Presently, a VAX computer operates the diffractometer.

1. Siemens D-500 X-Ray Diffraction System

2. Nicolet/Stoe Model X-Ray Diffraction System

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