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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

New perspectives on materials and device dynamics using time-resolved full-field diffraction X-ray imaging

Understanding how materials evolve during synthesis, processing, or device operation requires experimental access to structural dynamics across wide ranges of length and time scales, often in bulk samples or even within packaged devices. Time-resolved full-field diffraction X-ray microscopy has recently emerged as a powerful way to meet this need by combining the penetration and structural sensitivity of X-ray diffraction with objective-lens-based magnification, sensitive high-resolution X-ray imaging detectors, and pump-probe and real-time imaging strategies. Advances in full-field X-ray diffraction microscopy, often termed dark-field X-ray microscopy (DFXM), enable simultaneous imaging of extended fields of view while retaining crystallographic selectivity. Time-resolved DFXM promises to enable advances in materials processing and dynamics, electrochemical and photochemical processes, and the design of electronic devices. This Perspective summarizes the key instrumental concepts that define the performance of these methods, including the choice of imaging optics, detector considerations, and the impact of source time structure at synchrotron light sources and X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). We discuss the simultaneous use of complementary imaging modes that are increasingly used in practice. The early demonstrations of the potential of time-resolved DFXM include real-time defect and grain-boundary dynamics during metal annealing, stroboscopic imaging of functional devices with high strain sensitivity, and ultrafast pump-probe implementations at XFELs that directly visualize acoustic-wave propagation and energy dissipation in bulk crystals.

Dark-field X-ray microscopy↗
DOE OSTI2015

Crystal structure of α- and β-Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7}: From Rietveld refinement using powder neutron diffraction data

The crystal structures of α- and β-Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} have been determined from neutron powder diffraction. At 293 K, the compound α-Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} has a monoclinic unit cell, space group P2{sub 1}/a, with a=12.7617(14) Å, b=7.8384(10) Å, c=6.8962(9) Å, β=111.285(9)°, and Z=4. At 773 K, β-Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} is also monoclinic, space group C2/m, with a=12.933(1) Å, b=7.887(1) Å, c=6.9086(8) Å, β=110.816(10)°, and Z=4. The structures can be described by layers U{sub 2}O{sub 7}{sup 2−} built from corner linked deformed UO{sub 6} octahedra with pentagonal UO{sub 7} bipyramids in between linked with common edges to each other and to the octahedra. The Na atoms occupy the interlayer space. The Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} layers are similar as in K{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7}, but with a different stacking sequence of the layers. The layers in β-Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} are more symmetric. The relationship with the compounds A{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} (A=K, Rb, and Cs) is discussed. - Graphical abstract: The U{sub 2}O{sub 7} layer of α-Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} (left) at 293 K and of β-Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} (right) at 773 K determined by neutron diffraction. Some Na atoms between the layers are visible. - Highlights: • Na{sub 2}U{sub 2}O{sub 7} has been prepared by means of a solid state reaction. • The structure has been determined using neutron diffraction. • At 293 K, the compound adopts a monoclinic structure with space group P2{sub 1}/a. • The structure at 773 K is closely related, and is described in the space group C2/m.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

The magnetic and neutron diffraction studies of La{sub 1−x}Sr{sub x}MnO{sub 3} nanoparticles prepared via molten salt synthesis

Series of single-phase La{sub 1−x}Sr{sub x}MnO{sub 3} nanoparticles (x=0.25−0.47) with the size of about 50 nm was prepared in molten NaNO{sub 2}. TEM evidenced well dispersed particles that are not interconnected by sintering bridges in contrast to traditional products. Interestingly, some reduction of the perovskite cell volume, particularly at higher Sr-contents, was detected by XRD. Moreover, reduced magnetization and decreased Curie temperature in comparison to sol–gel samples were observed. Neutron diffraction analysis of the as-prepared nanoparticles and several comparative samples with x=0.37 indicated that the anomalous behavior of studied particles probably originate in the overdoped outer shell. The overdoping might result from both the surface oxygen chemisorption and from an increased Sr concentration in the shell. By all means, the overdoping would lead to compressive surface stress, driving the x=0.37 ground state toward a mixture of FM and A-type AFM ordering as observed by neutron diffraction. - Graphical abstract: La{sub 1−x}Sr{sub x}MnO{sub 3} nanoparticles with the size of about 50 nm were prepared by newly established method in molten NaNO{sub 2}. TEM proved the formation of well-separated particles without sintering bridges, the major advantage over traditional preparation methods. - Highlights: • Series of La{sub 1−x}Sr{sub x}MnO{sub 3} nanoparticles was prepared by novel method in NaNO{sub 2} melt. • Lower magnetization and Curie temperature in comparison to sol–gel nanoparticles was observed. • Overdoping of outer shell was indicated by neutron diffraction and cerimetric titration. • Overdoping shifts La{sub 0.37}Sr{sub 0.63}MnO{sub 3} ground state to a mixture of FM and A-type AFM ordering.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Structure of Se-Te glasses studied using neutron, X-ray diffraction and reverse Monte Carlo modelling

Pulsed neutron diffraction and synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements were performed on Se{sub 100-x}Te{sub x} bulk glasses with x=10, 20, 30 and 40. The coordination numbers obtained from the diffraction results demonstrate that Se and Te atoms are twofold coordinated and the glass structure is formed by the chain network. The three-dimensional structure model for Se{sub 60}Te{sub 40} glass obtained by using reverse Monte Carlo modelling shows that the alternating arrangements of Se and Te atoms compose the major part of the chain clusters but several other fragments such as Se{sub n} chains and Te-Te dimers are also present in large numbers. The chain clusters have geometrically disordered forms and the interchain atomic order is different from those in the crystal structures of trigonal Se and trigonal Te. - Graphical abstract: Coordination environment in Se{sub 60}Te{sub 40} glass.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Neutron and X-ray powder diffraction study of skutterudite thermoelectrics

N- and p-type filled-skutterudite materials prepared for thermoelectric power generation modules were analyzed by neutron diffraction at the POWGEN beam line of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The skutterudite powders were processed by melt spinning, followed by ball milling and annealing. The n-type material consists of Ba–Yb–Co–Sb and the p-type material consists of Di–Fe–Ni–Sb or Di–Fe–Co–Sb (Di = didymium, an alloy of Pr and Nd). Powders for prototype module fabrication from General Motors and Marlow Industries were analyzed in this study. XRD and neutron diffraction studies confirm that both the n- and p-type materials have cubic symmetry. Structural Rietveld refinements determined the lattice parameters and atomic parameters of the framework and filler atoms. The cage filling fraction was found to depend linearly on the lattice parameter, which in turn depends on the average framework atom size. Ultimately, this knowledge may allow the filling fraction of these skutterudite materials to be purposefully adjusted, thereby tuning the thermoelectric properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Quantitative phase analysis of challenging samples using neutron powder diffraction. Sample #4 from the CPD QPA round robin revisited

Here, quantitative phase analysis (QPA) using neutron powder diffraction more often than not involves non-ambient studies where no sample preparation is possible. The larger samples and penetration of neutrons versus X-rays makes neutron diffraction less susceptible to inhomogeneity and large grain sizes, but most well-characterized QPA standard samples do not have these characteristics. Sample #4 from the International Union of Crystallography Commission on Powder Diffraction QPA round robin was one such sample. Data were collected using the POWGEN time-of-flight (TOF) neutron powder diffractometer and analysed together with historical data from the C2 diffractometer at Chalk River. The presence of magnetic reflections from Fe 3 O 4 (magnetite) in the sample was an additional consideration, and given the frequency at which iron-containing and other magnetic compounds are present during in-operando studies their possible impact on the accuracy of QPA is of interest. Additionally, scattering from thermal diffuse scattering in the high- Q region (<0.6 Å) accessible with TOF data could impact QPA results during least-squares because of the extreme peak overlaps present in this region. Refinement of POWGEN data was largely insensitive to the modification of longer d -spacing reflections by magnetic contributions, but the constant-wavelength data were adversely impacted if the magnetic structure was not included. A robust refinement weighting was found to be effective in reducing quantification errors using the constant-wavelength neutron data both where intensities from magnetic reflections were ignored and included. Results from the TOF data were very sensitive to inadequate modelling of the high- Q (low d -spacing) background using simple polynomials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

An electrically driven terahertz metamaterial diffractive modulator with more than 20 dB of dynamic range

We design and experimentally demonstrate a switchable diffraction grating for terahertz modulation based on planar active metamaterials, where a Schottky gate structure is implemented to tune the metamaterial resonances in real-time via the application of an external voltage bias. The diffraction grating is formed by grouping the active split-ring resonators into an array of independent columns with alternate columns biased. We observe off-axis diffraction over a wide frequency band in contrast to the narrow-band resonances, which permits operation of the device as a relatively high-speed, wide-bandwidth, high-contrast modulator, with more than 20 dB of dynamic range.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

X-ray diffraction on the X-cut of a Ca{sub 3}TaGa{sub 3}Si{sub 2}O{sub 14} single crystal modulated by a surface acoustic wave

The result of X-ray diffraction study on a single crystal of the calcium-gallogermanate family Ca{sub 3}TaGa{sub 3}Si{sub 2}O{sub 14} (CTGS) modulated by a surface acoustic wave (SAW) is presented. The power flow angle for SAW propagating along the X{sub 2} axis of the X-cut in CTGS was measured. The rocking curves for the CTGS crystal were recorded at different amplitudes of an input high frequency electric signal on interdigital transducer used to excite a SAW. Based on the data obtained, intensity dependence of diffraction satellites on the amplitude of electric signal exciting a SAW was built. Numerical simulation of the crystal rocking curves and dependence of diffraction satellite intensities on the SAW amplitude enabled the selection of a set of material constants at which the most complete coincidence of experimental and calculated results is observed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Neutron diffraction, Mössbauer effect and electron paramagnetic resonance studies on multiferroic Pb(Fe{sub 2/3}W{sub 1/3})O{sub 3}

Multiferroic Pb(Fe{sub 2/3}W{sub 1/3})O{sub 3} ceramics were synthesized via a modified two-stage Columbite method. Single phase formation was confirmed from the analysis of x-ray and neutron diffraction patterns recorded at room temperature. Structural analysis of the diffraction data reveals cubic phase (space group Pm-3m) for the title compound. Magnetic structure of the title compound at room temperature exhibits G-type antiferromagnetic structure. The Mössbauer spectroscopy and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) studies were carried out at 300 K. The isomer shift and quadrupole splitting of the Mössbauer spectra confirms the trivalent state of iron (Fe{sup 3+}). The Mössbauer spectra also suggest that the iron and tungsten are randomly distributed at the octahedral, B site. EPR spectra show a single broad line associated with Fe{sup 3+} ions. Both spectra clearly exhibit weak ferromagnetic behaviour of Pb(Fe{sub 2/3}W{sub 1/3})O{sub 3} ceramic at 300 K. Considering neutron diffraction, Mössbauer and EPR results together, it may be stated here that Pb(Fe{sub 2/3}W{sub 1/3})O{sub 3} exhibits antiferromagnetic behavior along with weak ferromagnetism at room temperature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Note: Design of a laser feedback interferometer with double diffraction system

A novel laser feedback interferometer with double diffraction system is proposed in this paper. A beam emitted from the laser is incident onto a transmission grating. The mth order beam is vertically reflected by a mirror and diffracted again by the grating. The double-diffracted beam returns into the laser cavity and mixes with the light inside the active cavity, thus generating a modulation of both the amplitude and the frequency of the lasing field. Theoretical analysis and experimental observations show that the output signal of the proposed system depends on the grating pitch and the direction of the phase movement can be obtained from inclination of the interference signal. It provides a potential displacement sensor with high stability and quite a compact configuration.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Breaking the efficiency limit for high-frequency blazed multilayer soft x-ray gratings: Conical vs classical diffraction

High-frequency multilayer-coated blazed diffraction gratings (HFMBGs) are most promising elements for ultrahigh resolution soft x-ray spectroscopy. As it has been demonstrated recently [Voronov et al., Opt. Express 23, 4771 (2015)], the efficiency limit for in-plane diffraction can exceed 2–3 times, in higher orders too, when the period of a HFMBG is shorter than an attenuation length for soft x-rays and a bilayer asymmetry is designed. In this letter, using numerical experiments based on the rigorous electromagnetic theory, a possibility of off-plane diffraction and symmetrical multilayer coatings to enhance the efficiency of soft-x-ray high-order HFMBGs very closely to the absolute limit, i.e., 0.92–0.98 of the reflectance of the respective W/B4C multilayer, has been demonstrated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Signatures of electronic and nuclear coherences in ultrafast molecular x-ray and electron diffraction

Femtosecond x-ray and electron diffraction hold promise to image the evolving structures of single molecules. We present a unified quantum-electrodynamical formulation of diffraction signals, based on the exact many-body nuclear + electronic wavefunction that can be extracted from quantum chemistry simulations. This gives a framework for analyzing various approximate molecular dynamics simulations. We show that the complete description of ultrafast diffraction signals contains interesting contributions involving mixed elastic and inelastic scattered photons that are usually masked by other larger contributions and are neglected. These terms include overlaps of nuclear wavepackets between different electronic states that provide an electronic decoherence mechanism and are important for the time-resolved imaging of conical intersections.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Strength of tantalum to 276 GPa determined by two x-ray diffraction techniques using diamond anvil cells

Tantalum (Ta) is a metal that has useful properties that make it useful in extreme environments. It is therefore important to understand how Ta performs in such extreme conditions by accurately measuring its properties. In this work, the yield strength of tantalum has been measured at pressures up to 276 GPa using axial and radial x-ray diffraction (XRD) methods in diamond anvil cells (DAC). We measured strength using XRD in a radial DAC to 50 GPa, in an axial DAC to 60 GPa using diamonds with standard flat culets, and in a final experiment to 276 GPa using toroidal diamond anvils. The radial XRD data were refined using the Material Analysis Using Diffraction (MAUD) Rietveld software package to extract lattice strain and the yield strength. The axial data were refined using the General Structure Analysis System (GSAS) II and a linewidth method was used to calculate the yield strength. The yield strength measured near ambient pressure was found to be 0.5 GPa and increased with pressure up to 50 GPa, where the yield strength plateaued at a value of 2.4 GPa. At pressures above 60 GPa, the strength increased again to a maximum value of 9 GPa at the highest pressure of 276 GPa. Here, the data from the three experiments show good agreement between the methods and previously reported experimental data. This agreement illustrates the value of axial diffraction data for material strength determination and allows for measurements at multihundreds of GPa using toroidal DACs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multiframe X-ray diffraction on the OMEGA EP laser

A method of measuring multiple temporally resolved powder x-ray diffraction measurements during a single dynamic compression laser experiment has been demonstrated on the OMEGA EP laser. Up to four time-gated snapshots of the x-ray diffraction pattern are collected on an ultrafast x-ray framing camera with a 2θ scattering angle coverage of 48°–65° and 400-ps temporal resolution with the potential for 10°–160° and 200-ps resolution. X-ray diffraction snapshots capture the transformation to a high-pressure β phase in ramp-compressed Zr, constraining the atomic structure and pressure–density equation-of-state in a single shot. Here, this platform will be used to constrain transition pressures, understand the role of kinetics, and verify the existence of hysteresis and metastability on phase transformations at the lattice level under single-shot dynamic compression.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2017

Expected values and variances of Bragg peak intensities measured in a nanocrystalline powder diffraction experiment

A rigorous study of sampling and intensity statistics applicable for a powder diffraction experiment as a function of crystallite size is presented. Our analysis yields approximate equations for the expected value, variance and standard deviations for both the number of diffracting grains and the corresponding diffracted intensity for a given Bragg peak. The classical formalism published in 1948 by Alexander, Klug & Kummer [ J. Appl. Phys. (1948), 19 , 742–753] appears as a special case, limited to large crystallite sizes, here. It is observed that both the Lorentz probability expression and the statistics equations used in the classical formalism are inapplicable for nanocrystalline powder samples.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A polarization-switch effect of silicon crystals under multiple-beam diffraction geometry

On the basis of rigorous dynamical-theory calculations, a complete X-ray polarization-switch effect of silicon crystals at the exact multiple-beam diffraction condition is demonstrated in this paper. The underlying physical mechanism of this unique phenomenon can be revealed using a simple multiple-wave propagation and interference model. The constructive and destructive interference of the multiple detoured-diffraction beams along the direction of the primary diffracted beam directly leads to the complete polarization switch. This phenomenon can be realized using both synchrotron and laboratory X-ray sources at many discrete wavelengths, and used to design a novel crystal-based polarizer to achieve a 90° polarization rotation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Bragg Spot Finder (BSF): a new machine-learning-aided approach to deal with spot finding for rapidly filtering diffraction pattern images

Macromolecular crystallography contributes significantly to understanding diseases and, more importantly, how to treat them by providing atomic resolution 3D structures of proteins. This is achieved by collecting X-ray diffraction images of protein crystals from important biological pathways. Spotfinders are used to detect the presence of crystals with usable data, and the spots from such crystals are the primary data used to solve the relevant structures. Having fast and accurate spot finding is essential, but recent advances in synchrotron beamlines used to generate X-ray diffraction images have brought us to the limits of what the best existing spotfinders can do. This bottleneck must be removed so spotfinder software can keep pace with the X-ray beamline hardware improvements and be able to see the weak or diffuse spots required to solve the most challenging problems encountered when working with diffraction images. In this paper, we first present Bragg Spot Detection (BSD), a large benchmark Bragg spot image dataset that contains 304 images with more than 66 000 spots. We then discuss the open source extensible U-Net-based spotfinder Bragg Spot Finder (BSF), with image pre-processing, a U-Net segmentation backbone, and post-processing that includes artifact removal and watershed segmentation. Finally, we perform experiments on the BSD benchmark and obtain results that are (in terms of accuracy) comparable to or better than those obtained with two popular spotfinder software packages ( Dozor and DIALS ), demonstrating that this is an appropriate framework to support future extensions and improvements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Three-dimensional nanostructure determination from a large diffraction data set recorded using scanning electron nanodiffraction

A diffraction-based technique is developed for the determination of three-dimensional nanostructures. The technique employs high-resolution and low-dose scanning electron nanodiffraction (SEND) to acquire three-dimensional diffraction patterns, with the help of a special sample holder for large-angle rotation. Grains are identified in three-dimensional space based on crystal orientation and on reconstructed dark-field images from the recorded diffraction patterns. Application to a nanocrystalline TiN thin film shows that the three-dimensional morphology of columnar TiN grains of tens of nanometres in diameter can be reconstructed using an algebraic iterative algorithm under specified prior conditions, together with their crystallographic orientations. The principles can be extended to multiphase nanocrystalline materials as well. Thus, the tomographic SEND technique provides an effective and adaptive way of determining three-dimensional nanostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗