Empyrean range
Multipurpose X-ray diffractometers for your analytical needs
X-ray diffraction on a very small scale
Micro-diffraction (also known as X-ray microdiffraction, micro X-ray diffraction or µXRD) analysis, uses a very narrow beam to carry out highly localized X-ray diffraction measurements of a very small area. This can be achieved using dedicated incident beam collimators that reduce the emitted X-rays.
Using a mono-capillary, it is possible to produce an incident X-ray beam with a diameter of about 50 µm.
The micro-diffraction technique is generally used with either a small or non-homogenous sample with varying composition, lattice strain or preferred orientation of the crystallites.
Insightful characterization from microstructural examinations
Micro-diffraction can be applied to many diffraction investigations including the characterization of: small spots on samples with strong gradients in composition, e.g. contaminations, inclusions, mineralogical samples, forensic samples, tiny cross-sections from ancient paintings, archeological samples, worked pieces of metallurgical interest, tool inserts, and patterned wafers.
Malvern Panalytical solutions for micro-diffraction
Micro-diffraction application measurements can be performed with the Empyrean platform equipped with a PreFIX module capable of generating a pencil beam (e.g. mono-capillary or double-crossed slits) on the incident beam path, and a high magnification video camera to visualize and position the sample in the X-ray beam.
Using our hybrid pixel detectors, it is possible to collect 2D diffraction patterns that give direct insight into the phase composition in a non-homogeneous sample.
