It is demonstrated that a complex X-ray characterization of semiconductor films epitaxially grown on metal oxide buffer layers and Si(111) substrates is possible using laboratory-based equipment. This is demonstrated with epi-germanium on Pr2O3 as buffer material. Pole figure measurements prove that epi-Ge layers are nearly single crystalline with exactly the same in-plane orientation (type A) as the Si(111) substrate, while the lattice of the oxide layer is 180° rotated around the [111] surface normal (type B). Only a small fraction (less than 0.6 vol %) of the epi-Ge exhibits type B rotation twins. The main structural defects are microtwin lamellas lying in {111} planes 70.5° inclined to the wafer surface. The different in-plane orientation of the Si substrate and epi-Ge on one side and the Pr2O3 buffer layer on the other side allows a very sensitive analysis of strain and defects even for a 10-nm oxide layer buried under a 100-nm Ge. The epi-Ge layers are nearly fully relaxed and the Pr2O3 buffer layer is compressively strained. Due to the existing defects the Ge (111) planes are tilted in a characteristic pattern relative to the Si substrate.

Crystal structure of Li2BaSiO4 was reinvestigated by laboratory X-ray powder diffraction. The title compound was hexagonal with space group P63cm, Z=6, unit-cell dimensions a=0.810 408(2) nm, c=1.060 829(4) nm, and V=0.603 370(3) nm3. The initial structural model was successfully derived by the direct methods and further refined by the Rietveld method, with the anisotropic atomic displacement parameters being assigned for all atoms. The reliability indices calculated from the Rietveld refinement were Rwp=6.72%, S=1.17, Rp=5.06%, RB=1.86%, and RF=0.98%. The maximum-entropy method-based pattern fitting (MPF) method was used to confirm the validity of the structural model, in which conventional structure bias caused by assuming intensity partitioning was minimized. The final reliability indices calculated from MPF were Rwp=6.74%, S=1.17, Rp=5.10%, RB=1.49%, and RF=0.69%. Atomic arrangements of the final structural model were in excellent agreement with the three-dimensional electron-density distributions determined by MPF.

The crystal structure of Ag2GeO3 was determined from laboratory X-ray powder diffraction data (Cu Kα1) using the Rietveld method. The title compound is orthorhombic with space group P212121, Z=4, unit-cell dimensions a=0.463 09(1) nm, b=0.713 93(2) nm, and c=1.040 79(3) nm, and V=0.344 10(2) nm3 . The final reliability indices were Rwp=5.58%, S=1.26, Rp=4.20%, RB=0.67% , and RF=0.35% . The GeO4 tetrahedra form infinite chains of [Ge2O6] along the a axis, with two tetrahedra per identity period of 0.463 nm. Individual chains are connected by Ag atoms, one-half of which are almost linearly coordinated by two O atoms and the rest are coordinated by three O atoms. The relatively short Ag-Ag distances of 0.299 to 0.339 nm indicate Ag(I)-Ag(I) interaction. This compound is isostructural with Ag2SiO3.

Compound from the solid-solution NdSrNi1−xCrxO4−δ, 0≤x≤1, has been prepared using conventional solid-state method and was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction. The NdSrNi0.5Cr0.5O4−δ sample shows the adoption of the K2NiF4-type structure based on the tolerance factor calculation. X-ray diffraction analysis using the Rietveld method was carried out and it was found that NdSrNi0.5Cr0.5O4−δ compound crystallizes in tetragonal symmetry with space group I4/mmm. The lattice parameters are found to be at room temperature, a=3.8012(3) Å and c=12.4812(1) Å. For X-ray diffraction data, the reliability factors are RB=0.034, Rwp=0.089, , and χ2=1.17. Bond-valence sum calculations were performed for nickel and chromium. The changes in unit-cell parameters are discussed in terms of oxygen stoichiometry and transition metal (3d) oxidation state from the perspective of the Brown bond-valence sum calculation theory.

Samples of single-phase Sr2FeMoO6 were successfully prepared by solid-state reaction with long sintering times. The crystal structures of the Sr2FeMoO6 samples were determined from X-ray powder diffraction data using the Rietveld refinement method. The structure results obtained by the Rietveld refinements show that an increase in the total sintering time of the solid-state reaction is an effective method to obtain single Sr2FeMoO6 phase and to improve the ordering of Fe and Mo cations (or reducing antisite defects) in the double-perovskite structure. The volume of the tetragonal unit cell of Sr2FeMoO6 contracts slightly after successive sintering treatments. The averaged Fe-O and Mo-O bond lengths as well as the tilt between the FeO6 and the MoO6 octahedra decrease with increasing total sintering time. Our results suggest that the detected subtle changes in crystal structure, such as bond lengths and bond angles between the Fe and Mo cations and oxygen, in the ordered double-perovskite structure may be responsible for the large effects on previously reported transport and magnetic properties of an oxide metal.

The solvent-free conversion of N-carbamoyl-L-proline to hydantoin-L-proline by direct heating at 470 K is reported. A reaction mechanism is proposed based on a nucleophilic intramolecular substitution reaction involving both the lone pair of the NH2 group and the carboxylic acid group of the N-carbamoyl-L-proline. The DSC and TGA experiments show rising of the baselines of the curves prior to melting and decomposition given evidence of the onset of the thermal reaction. NMR experiments were used to identify the product of the reaction, hydantoin-L-proline, whose crystal structure was obtained from X-ray synchrotron powder diffraction data collected on the solidified melt. This compound displays a crystal packing directed by hydrogen bonds forming a layered structure pile up along the c direction.

X-ray diffraction, selected area electron diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscope techniques were used to investigate the crystalline structures of one-dimensional tungsten oxide nanowires prepared by the hydrothermal method. The as-synthesized products were found to exhibit increasing crystallinity with increasing reaction time, and tungsten oxide nanowires have crystalline defects, including stacking faults, dislocations, and vacancies. The results on the crystal defects help us to obtain a better understanding of the temperature-dependent morphological evolution of the ultrathin nanowires synthesized under different thermal processes.

The crystal structure of Sb(C2O4)OH has been solved by charge flipping in combination with difference Fourier techniques using laboratory X-ray powder data exhibiting significant preferred orientation and refined by the Rietveld method. The compound crystallizes in Pnma with a=5.827 13(3), b=11.294 48 (10), c=6.313 77(3) Å, V=415.537(5) Å3, and Z=4. The crystal structure contains pentagonal pyramidal Sb3+ cations, which are bridged by hydroxyl groups to form zigzag chains along the a axis. Each oxalate anion chelates to two Sb in approximately the ab plane, linking the chains into a three-dimensional framework. The H of the hydroxyl group is probably disordered in order to form stronger more-linear hydrogen bonds. The highest energy occupied molecular orbitals are the Sb3+ lone pairs. The structure is chemically reasonable compared to other antimony oxalates and to Bi(C2O4)OH.

The crystal structure of skutterudite-related phase IrGe1.5Se1.5 has been refined by the Rietveld method from laboratory X-ray powder diffraction data. Refined crystallographic data for IrGe1.5Se1.5 are a=12.0890(2) Å, c=14.8796(3) Å, V=1883.23(6) Å3, space group R3 (No. 148), Z=24, and Dc=8.87 g/cm3. Its crystal structure can be derived from the ideal skutterudite structure (CoAs3), where Se and Ge atoms are ordered in layers perpendicular to the [111] direction of the original skutterudite cell. Weak distortions of the anion and cation sublattices were also observed.

The nucleation of dislocations at indents in silicon following rapid thermal annealing (RTA) has been examined by X-ray diffraction imaging (topography). For indentation loads below 200 mN, no slip bands were generated from the indent sites following RTA at 1000 °C under spike conditions. Upon plateau annealing at 1000 °C, slip dislocations were propagated from some indents but not all. Slip was also observed from edge defects not associated with indentation. For 500-mN indentation load, large scale dislocation sources were generated from the indent sites propagating on two of the four {111} slip planes. These dislocations multiplied into macroscopic-scale slip bands. A significant change in morphology was observed in the 60° dislocation segments after the screw segment reached the rear surface of the wafer. Dislocations changed line direction and in some cases appeared to leave the Peierls trough during glide.

The structure transitions and phase relationships of DyFe3−xAlx compounds have been investigated by X-ray powder diffraction. Our XRD results show that each of the compounds with x≤0.45 crystallizes in the rhombohedral PuNi3-type structure with space group R3¯m and Z=9; for the 0.8≤x<1.0 compounds, each has a hexagonal structure of the CeNi3 type with space group P63/mmc and Z=6; and each of the samples with 0.45<x<0.8 is a two-phase mixture of the PuNi3- and CeNi3-type structures. The calculated XRD intensities of the DyFe3−xAlx compounds with x=0.2, 0.33, 0.4, and 0.45 indicate that Dy occupies the 3a and 6c sites, Fe and Al distribute randomly on the 18h site, and the 3b and 6c sites are exclusively occupied by Fe, which agrees well with those of our experimental XRD patterns. The XRD intensities of the DyFe3−xAlx compounds with x=0.8 and 1.0 have also been calculated and found to agree with the experimental results with Dy on the 2c and 4f sites, Fe and Al at the 12k site, and Fe at the 2a, 2b, and 2d sites. In the two-phase region with x=0.45–0.8, the values of unit-cell parameters and phase compositions are linearly dependent on the value of x, indicating that the two phases are constituted by the same composition x with different stacking arrangements. This abnormal two-phase equilibrium is further confirmed by the structural analysis of the DyFe2.33Al0.67 (or x=0.67) sample. The samples with x=1.1 and 1.2 were also analyzed, and each found to be a mixture of more than two phases.

X-ray powder diffraction data for CuGa0.15In0.85Se2 and CuGa0.50In0.50Se2 are reported. Indexing of the X-ray diffraction powder pattern and the Rietveld refinement confirmed that these compounds crystallize in the tetragonal crystal system, with space group I-42d (No. 122) and lattice parameters of a=5.7528(2) Å and c=11.5225(3) Å for CuGa0.15In0.85Se2 and a=5.6847(1) Å and c=11.2817(1) Å for CuGa0.50In0.50Se2. The CuGaxIn1−xSe2 system presents the chalcopyrite type crystal structure (CuFeS2) and corresponds to two stacked zinc-blende unit cells. The metal atoms Cu, In, and Ga are regularly ordered in the unit cell. Every Se atom is tetrahedrally bonded to two Cu and two In and Ga atoms.

Biaxial residual stress in a 〈111〉 textured cubic TiN polycrystalline thin film was analyzed by linear least-squares refinement using the method proposed by Yokoyama and Harada [J. Appl. Crystallogr. 42, 185–191 (2009)]. Values of the unstressed (or stress-free) unit-cell parameter a0=4.2332±0.0006 Å and the stress components of σ11=397(88), σ22=401(88), and σ12=−110(100) were obtained. The values of the in-plane stresses σ11 and σ22 presented in the TiN film are practically the same, while σ12 is relatively small. The results obtained in this study confirm that the above theoretical prediction by Yokoyama and Harada can be used to obtain reliable values of stress-free unit-cell parameter and three biaxial stress components of a textured cubic thin film.

The growth of precipitates in a deformed Cu–Ni–Si alloy with an aging treatment and the rearrangement of dislocations were investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering method and XRD line-profile analysis. The small-angle X-ray scattering method was used for characterizing the growth behavior of the precipitates. The results showed that the precipitates grew gradually to a few nanometers in radius when aged under the condition that the alloy exhibited a maximum of the hardness due to precipitation hardening. The growth rate rose from the onset of the overaging, where the hardness started to decrease. The line-profile analysis of copper-based alloy diffraction peaks using modified Williamson–Hall and modified Warren–Averbach procedures yielded a variation in the dislocation densities of the alloy as a function of the aging time. The dislocation density of the alloy before the aging treatment was estimated to be 1.7×1015 m−2 and its high value was held up to the peak-aging time. With the onset of the overaging, however, the dislocation density distinctly decreased by about 1 order of magnitude indicating that a large amount of the dislocations rearranged to release the alloy from the high dislocation-density state. The results suggest that the massive rearrangement of dislocations was accompanied with coarsening of the precipitates.

Polycrystalline Mn1.1Fe0.9P0.76Ge0.24 was prepared by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering. Neutron diffraction was used to determine the structure of the title compound, and its nuclear and magnetic structures were refined using the Rietveld method. It is found that temperature and magnetic field can induce phase transition between the paramagnetic and the ferromagnetic phases in the material, and the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases have very distinct crystal structures and different Ge contents.

Shot peening was conducted on [100]- and [111]-oriented monocrystalline nickel-based superalloy samples to study the effect of crystal orientation on the distributions of the residual stress and evolution of microstructures in the deformation layers on the sample surfaces as a function of the coverage up to 400%. The XRD results show that the orientation randomizations and the values of compressive residual stress in the [111]-oriented samples are relatively higher than those in the [001]-oriented samples. Moreover, the residual-stress distribution in each sample is anisotropic, and the residual stress is maximum along the 〈110〉 direction. This phenomenon can be explained by the anisotropic properties of a single-crystal alloy and mechanism of the dislocation slip in the plastic deformation layers. Line profile analysis was also used to obtain microstructural information of the samples.

The engineering of strained semiconductor materials represents an important aspect of the enhancement in CMOS device performance required for current and future generations of microelectronic technology. An understanding of the mechanical response of the Si channel regions and their environment is key to the prediction and design of device operation. Because of the complexity of the composite geometries associated with microelectronic circuitry, in situ characterization at a submicron resolution is necessary to verify the predicted strain distributions. Of the measurement techniques commonly used for strain characterization, synchrotron-based X-ray microbeam diffraction represents the best nondestructive method to provide spatially resolved information. The mapping of strain distributions in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) features induced by overlying silicon nitride structures and embedded heteroepitaxial features adjacent to SOI device channels are presented. The interaction regions of the SOI strain were observed to extend large distances from the SOI/stressor interfaces leading to significant overlap in the strain distributions at technically relevant dimensions. Experimental data were also compared to several mechanical models to assess their validity in predicting these strain distributions.

X-ray powder diffraction data of voglibose are reported, and its crystal and molecular structures were determined by simulated annealing and rigid-body Rietveld refinement methods. Voglibose was found to be crystallized in triclinic symmetry with space group P-1. The lattice parameters were determined to be a=6.1974(6) Å, b=6.9918(5) Å, c=7.3955(9) Å, α=70.8628(3), β=103.5312(4), γ=94.3867(5)°, V=294.2(2) Å3, and ρcal=1.495 g/cm3. The crystal structure contains isolated C10H21NO7 molecular.

Laboratory X-ray powder diffraction was applied to investigate the pigments used by medieval artists in Ruthenian-Byzantine frescoes in the royal Wawel Cathedral in Krakow (Poland). It was found that red fragments contained cinnabar (PDF 06-0256), yellow contained goethite (PDF 29-0713), and blue pieces contained azurite (PDF 02-0153). The green pigment, quite difficult to identify, was finally established as green earths—pigments commonly used in Byzantine wall paintings. Calcite (PDF 24-0027) was detected in all the samples. Small amounts of quartz (PDF 46-1045) in the plaster samples were also detected. The absence or presence of only minute amounts of quartz is a characteristic feature of the Ruthenian-Byzantine frescoes. Malachite was not detected in the green parts of the frescoes, in contrast to earlier investigations of wall paintings in Poland. Experimental details and the results obtained in this study are described and discussed.

This paper describes a method to determine the equilibrium transformation temperatures in low C steels using the in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction technique. The samples were heated and then cooled from 1000 to 720 °C in a stepwise manner decreasing to −10 °C. Austenite and ferrite fractions were determined by a quantitative method using the integrated intensities of austenite (111)γ and ferrite (110)α peaks from X-ray diffraction patterns. The effect of the temperature on interplanar d spacings of (111) and (110) crystallographic planes was determined using 2θ maximum positions of the austenite (111)γ and ferrite (110)α peaks. The equilibrium transformation temperatures were determined to be Ae1=720 °C and Ae3=950 °C. The results are in excellent agreement with those obtained by dilatometric analysis and Thermo-Calc phase diagram simulation software. In addition, the results were supported by microstructural observations: the formation of thin ferrite films (5–10 μm) was observed at temperatures near to experimental Ae3.