X-Ray Diffraction: Instrumentation and Applications

X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a powerful nondestructive technique for characterizing crystalline materials. It provides information on structures, phases, preferred crystal orientations (texture), and other structural parameters, such as average grain size, crystallinity, strain, and crystal defects. X-ray diffraction peaks are produced by constructive interference of a monochromatic beam of X-rays scattered at specific angles from each set of lattice planes in a sample. The peak intensities are determined by the distribution of atoms within the lattice. Consequently, the X-ray diffraction pattern is the fingerprint of periodic atomic arrangements in a given material. This review summarizes the scientific trends…