Synchrotron X-radiation topography

Dislocation contrast on X-ray topographs under weak diffraction conditions

The contrast of dislocations in 4H-SiC crystals shows distinctive features on grazing-incidence X-ray topographs for diffraction at different positions on the operative rocking curve. Ray-tracing simulations have previously been successfully applied to describe the dislocation contrast at the peak of a rocking curve.The present work shows that the dislocation images observed under weak diffraction conditions can also be simulated using the ray-tracing method. These simulations indicate that the contrast of the dislocations is dominated by orientation contrast. Analysis of the effective misorientation reveals that the dislocation contrast in weak-beam topography is more sensitive to the local lattice distortion, consequently enabling information to be obtained on the dislocation sense which cannot be obtained from the peak.

2D real space visualization of d values in polycrystalline bulk materials of different hardness

Conventional X-ray diffraction measurements provide some average structural information, mainly on the crystal structure of the whole area of the given specimen, which might not be very uniform and may include different crystal structures, such as co-existing crystal phases and/or lattice distortion. The way in which the lattice plane changes due to strain also might depend on the position in the sample, and the average information might have some limits. Therefore, it is important to analyse the sample with good lateral spatial resolution in real space. Although various techniques for diffraction topography have been developed for single crystals, it has not always been easy to image polycrystalline materials. Since the late 1990s, imaging technology for fluorescent X-rays and X-ray absorption fine structure has been developed via a method that does not scan either a sample or an X-ray beam. X-ray diffraction imaging can be performed when this technique is applied to a synchrotron radiation beamline with a variable wavelength. The present paper reports the application of X-ray diffraction imaging to bulk steel materials with varying hardness. In this study, the distribution of lattice distortion of hardness test blocks with different hardness was examined. Via this 2D visualization method, the grains of the crystals with low hardness are large enough to be observed by X-ray diffraction contrast in real space. The change of the d value in the vicinity of the Vickers mark has also been quantitatively evaluated.