Background
Traditional powder diffraction measurements use the Bragg-Brentano focusing geometry to provide high-intensity, high-resolution measurements of well powdered samples. For many bulk samples with surface irregularities the use of parallel beam geometry is preferred. The on-demand availability of either geometry with the Ultima IV, fundamental to CBO, offers users complete flexibility without the need for reconfiguration. Supported powder diffraction applications include:
- Phase identification
- Crystallite size/strain analysis
- Quantitative analysis
- Precise lattice parameter determination
- Percent crystallinity
- Rietveld refinement
Investigation
Accurate quantitative analysis using the Rietveld method is an example of an advanced X-ray solution made simple by the Ultima IV system. In the example below, focusing geometry is used to obtain high resolution peak profiles from a well prepared three phase mixture of ZnO, MgO, and Al2O3.
In the case where sample surface quality is poor, one touch selection of parallel beam geometry, made possible by CBO enables accurate data to be collected under adverse conditions. In the next example the coarse grains of a photo-catalyst cause no problems in data acquisition for the Ultima IV configured with CBO.
A seamlessly integrated XYZ positioning stage and magnified CCD camera system allow X-ray diffraction data to be easily collected from different points on a sample surface. In the final example the small area measurement system positioning capability and the intense parallel beam provided by CBO combine to make measurements from two different locations on a printed circuit board simple and fast.
