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Materials Science 142

Applications of Diffraction Techniques in Materials Science

Spring Quarter 2006

Instructor:

Prof. Sossina M. Haile
307 Steele Laboratories, x2958, smhaile@caltech.edu

Teaching Assistant:

Mikhail Kislitsyn
303 Steele Laboratories, x1711, mikhail@caltech.edu

TA Office Hours: TBA

Organizational Meeting: Mon, March 27, 3pm, Steele 102

Class Meetings: Mon and Fri, 9-10 am, Steele 125

Lab Sessions: Wed, 8:30am - 12:30 pm, Keck 111

Text: (in bookstore)

• "Fundamentals of Powder Diffraction and Structural Characterization of Materials," by V.K. Pecharsk and P.Y. Zavalij, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers [2003]

Reserved Texts: (in SFL)

• "Modern Powder Diffraction" edited by D.L. Bish and J.E. Post, Washington, D.C., Mineralogical Society of America [1989]
• "Elements of X-ray crystallography" by Leonid V. Azároff, New York, McGraw-Hill [1968]
• "X-ray diffraction procedures for polycrystalline and amorphous materials" by Harold P. Klug and Leroy E. Alexander, 2nd ed, New York, Wiley [1974]
• "Elements of X-ray Diffraction" 2nd ed., by B.D. Cullity, Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley [1978]
• "The Rietveld Method" edited by R. A. Young, International Union of Crystallography, Oxford, Oxford Univ. Press [1993]

Course Structure:

Data analysis/Lab reports: weekly, 70%
No Midterm
Final: May 31-June 2, 30%

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  Course Content:

Applications of X-ray and neutron diffraction methods to the structural characterization of materials. Emphasis is on the analysis of polycrystalline materials but some discussion of single crystal methods is also presented. Techniques include quantitative phase analysis, crystallite size measurement, lattice parameter refinement, internal stress measurement, quantification of preferred orientation (texture) in materials, Rietveld refinement, and determination of structural features from small angle scattering. Homework assignments will consist of analysis of diffraction data, and students are to prepare formal laboratory write-ups.  Samples of interest to students for their thesis research may be examined where appropriate.

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Labs: (tentative!!)

No.	Title (link to site)	Assigned	Due	Link to pdf text
1	Symmetry Part I	4/05/06	4/12/06	Symmetry I
2	Symmetry Part 2	4/12/06	4/19/06	Symmetry II
HW	International Tables	4/19/06	4/26/06	Int. Tables HW
3	Lattice Parameter Refinement	4/26/06	5/03/06	LP Refinement See below
4	Ab initio Indexing Example7 - download data here	5/03/06	5/10/06	Indexing See below
5	Quantitative Analysis - Write-up instructions	5/10/06	5/17/06	Quant Analysis
6	Particle Size Analysis - Full report not required	5/17/06	5/24/06	Size Analysis
7	Rietveld Refinement and Profile Function Analysis	5/24/06	6/01/06	Reitveld Refinement

Guidance for written lab reports is available here. Read this before submitting lab 3.

No class Friday, April 28

No Final Exam

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© 2003 California Institute of Technology
Last modified: March 29, 2004