XRAY DIFFRACTOMETER (XRD)
The Solid State Lab has an X-ray diffraction equipment that is used to determine the identity of crystalline solids based on their atomic structure. X-ray diffraction is a technique that reveals detailed information about the chemical composition and crystallographic structures of various materials. X-rays scatter off of electrons, in a process of absorption and re-admission.
Diffraction is the accumulative result of the x-ray scattering of a group of electrons that are spaced in an orderly array. For an incident X-ray photon of monochromatic wavelength λ, coherent waves are produced from the sample at an angle of θ (2-θ with respect to the incident x-ray beam) if the electron groups interact with the x-ray beam and are spaced at a repeat distance d.
The analysis of polychromatic X-rays is made possible through the diffraction of the X-rays by a crystal. When X-rays of wavelength λ strike a crystal at a glancing angle θ, constructive interference after scattering only occurs when the path difference ∆ of the partial waves reflected from the lattice planes is one or more wavelengths
