IMR: Development of an Optimized Scanning X-Ray Microdiffraction System for Materials Research and Education

Iowa State University, Ames IA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will further develop a very productive synchrotron-based X-ray microdiffraction (mXRD) system at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. X-ray microdiffraction is a recent technique that employs sub-um X-ray beams and yields unique information on material structure, strain, texture and defects at the microstructural level. Since most material properties are dictated by mechanisms that occur at this level, mXRD offers a powerful tool to better understand materials. This project will further improve and optimize the mXRD system at ALS by: (i) improving spatial resolution (below 100 nm); (ii) allowing real-time data analysis; (iii) introducing higher strain resolution (down to 10-5) and deeper penetration by extending the X-ray energy range; and (iv) permitting three-dimensional measurements. The new mXRD system will allow the first time study of important problems in materials science and engineering that include stress, structure and domain micromechanics studies in ferroelectrics; investigation of metal deformation at the nanoscale and deformation mechanisms in metallic glasses; study of phase and stress evolution in oxide films; constitutive behavior investigation of shape memory alloys; electromigration and stress studies in microelectronic devices. The upgrade is also expected to raise the productivity of the mXRD beamline significantly due to faster data acquisition and analysis. For education and outreach, this project will offer unique training opportunities to students at all levels between high school and graduate school. This project will add new capabilities to a very productive synchrotron-based X-ray microdiffraction (mXRD) system to allow a new range of challenging materials science problems to be addressed. X-ray microdiffraction has been enabled at the sub-um scale in the last 5 years and the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has made pioneering advances in this area. The mXRD technique at ALS has been successfully applied to determine strain and defect distributions at the microstructural level in numerous materials. This project will further improve and optimize the mXRD system at ALS by: (i) improving spatial resolution (below 100 nm); (ii) allowing real-time data analysis; (iii) introducing higher strain resolution (down to 10-5) and deeper penetration by extending the X-ray energy range; and (iv) permitting 3-D measurements. The new mXRD system will allow the first time study of important problems in materials science and engineering that include stress, structure and domain micromechanics studies in ferroelectrics; investigation of metal deformation at the nanoscale and deformation mechanisms in metallic glasses; study of phase and stress evolution in oxide films; constitutive behavior investigation of shape memory alloys; electromigration and stress studies in microelectronic devices. The upgrade is also expected to raise the productivity of the mXRD beamline significantly due to faster data acquisition and analysis. For education and outreach, this project will offer unique training opportunities to students at all levels between high school and graduate school.