X-ray diffraction method for the analysis of amorphous and semi-crystalline materials

Abstract

A method and apparatus for X-ray diffraction analysis of amorphous and/or semi-crystalline materials is able to provide the internal strain map of at least the exposed region of the material, even in the amorphous regions of the material. This is achieved in part by providing several unique and novel analysis methods that are able to extract material properties of semi-crystalline and amorphous materials based on the amorphous diffraction signal. The ability to analyse the amorphous diffraction signal is further facilitated by the use of one or more state-of-the-art energy dispersive detectors, which the inventors have found especially suitable for this purpose. This further allows the use of a polychromatic X-ray source as opposed to the monochromatic X-ray sources typically encountered in X-ray diffraction experiments.