3DXRD

3DXRD is a far field diffraction technique capable of reconstructing polycrystalline materials from the individual diffraction spots recorded in the diffraction pattern given that the crystallographic parameters of the material are known. The success of the technique is based on the ability of the individual diffraction spots to be separated. This means there is a trade off between the number of grains and the degree of strain that is measurable. These factors should be discussed with one of the beamline scientists.

Technical description

For S3DXRD experiments, the beamsize has to be smaller than the grain size of the material. Then, the total duration of an experiment depends on the size of the sample itself.  For standard experiments, samples are 0.5 mm wide (they can be any shape).

The sample are mounted onto a 3 axis translation stage, itself onto a diffractometer. 

During an experiment, the sample is moved through the beam, and the step size is defined by the beam size. 

Sample environment

Unlike DCT, a full 360 degree rotation is not required so the technique is applicable with a range of sample environments. ID11 has an ADMET stress rig which has a changeable 5kN and 500N load cell.

Data processing & reduction

The data processing is done with the code ImageD11, available online : https://github.com/FABLE-3DXRD/ImageD11.

The diffraction spots on the raw images are segmented. Then they can be sorted by indexed. 

For the data reduction, the beamline recommends using the "fable" source code (click here for a link) which offers a number of command line scripts for processing the data.

Reference list

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