Click here to return to the XRD Lab Homepage. This page should be fully printable. Click here to return to the XRD Lab Homepage. This page should be fully printable.
This page has been revised to reflect the course schedule for Spring, 2010 and includes recent updates of many of the tutorial documents. Some of the documents have not changed since Spring, 2007. All of the course materials have been prepared by James R. Connolly who is responsible for any errors and omissions (of which there are undoubtedly many).
These materials may be read and freely copied for personal use, but may not be recopied or distributed without permission from the author. Permission requests should be directed to Jim Connolly via Email to connolly@unm.edu.
(however, several texts are recommended depending on individual student needs. Click here for a short list of texts which you may be interested in acquiring.)
Successful completion of Mineralogy (EPS 301) or an equivalent Mineralogy or Materials science course from another institution is highly recommended but not absolutely required. A fundamental backround in scientific methods, geometry, trigonometry and algebra is essential, and some more advanced mathematics is desirable (though not absolutely necessary). Undergraduate and graduate students from other departments may enroll in the course with permission from the instructor. This will be discussed during the first class session.
The course is available for graduate credit to E&PS graduate students who complete an additional research project -- see your instructor for requirements. Because of the compressed nature of the time available for lab work towards the end of the course, all students required to do a special research project (i.e., E&PS Graduate Students) should meet individually with the instructor sometime very early in March to discuss possible topics and plan a project strategy.
All students enrolled in the class (including any auditors) must take and pass the Radiation Safety Exam for XRD users before being allowed to use the laboratory. This should be completed by no later than Week 8. The exam is administered by the Radiation Safety group of the Safety, Heath and Environmental Affairs (SHEA) office. Most of what you need to know for this exam will be covered in Week 2 (and in related reference material); additional materials will be found on the XRD Lab "Resources" page (http://epswww.unm.edu/xrd/resources.htm) in the "Radiation Safety Information and Tutorials" section. It is your responsibility to complete this requirement in a timely manner. Please see our "Requirements for Users" page for details about who to contact.
Office: Northrop, Rm 108 (across from the Main office, near the elevator)
Phone: 505-277-9447
Cell: 505-550-2433
Official Office Hours specifc to the class will be posted, but in general I will be available for questions at any time that I am in the office.
This web page serves as the syllabus for this course. Please print it and refer to it for course requirements. It is each student's responsibility to read reference materials and complete assignments as outlined in the syllabus. Requirements will usually (but may not always) be reiterated in class sessions.
A special note about conduct in class: It is highly recommended that all students attend all class sessions. While the prepared materials contain all of what is covered in class, it is apparent from the numerious times this course has been offered that students who attend class, pay attention and ask questions when confronted by something that is unclear or that they do not understand get the most from the course and also get the best grades. It has also been learned over the years that the use of auxiliary devices (notebook computers, cell phones, PDAs, etc.) tends to distract students from attention to the material being presented. For this reason, use of these devices will not be allowed during class sessions.
An introduction to the use of X- ray Powder Diffraction as an analytical method. The course will emphasize the practical use of X-ray diffraction as an analytical tool for the identification of crystalline materials in minerals, rocks, soils and engineered materials. Topics to be covered:
Some hands-on laboratory exercises will supplement lecture topics.
Note: The revision dates for course materials are listed below. Most of the materials used will be from the last two times the course was offered (2007 or 2009). Some will include more recent revision dates. In all cases, the revisions will reflect changes in analytical methods since the last time the course was offered, and will be, in general, minor in scope.
Another source of online resources is our lab's XRD Resource page. Here you will find links to online tutorials on topics related to XRD, equipment manufacturer's web pages, and a variety of resources to supplement the course materials linked below.
These materials form the required text for this class. Students are responsible for the material contained in the Acrobat PDF files listed below regardless of whether that material is covered directly in class.
Acrobat PDF Note: Different web browsers can respond to Acrobat PDF files in a variety of manners. For most browsers, to view the Acrobat PDF files in your web browser, just click on them. To download the files so you can have a copy for reference, use your right-Mouse button (Mac users, just hold the mouse button down) and choose to "Save Target as .." or "Save Link As. ." to save a copy of the file. The files may be printed from your Web browser or from Acrobat Reader after downloading. Sometimes files will print more reliably if downloaded first and printed directly from Acrobat Reader (than if printed from your web browser).
PowerPoint Note: With the 2010 version of this course, I have discontinued attempts to make versions of the class PowerPoint presentations available that can be displayed in web browsers. I have found that these things in most cases cannot be printed, and do not display well. I have decided to make versions available in the native PowerPoint 2003 ("PPT") file type for those who want the full presentations. These presentations are in "Final" mode, meaning the ability to edit or make changes is disabled. Until all of the conversions are complete, some of the old MHT presentations will be listed below.
I am also making Acrobat PDF versions of the same PowerPoints that have all of the information in the slides without the display animations; these will have the same filename as the PowerPoint presentations with the addition of PPT at the end to differentiate them from the text tutorials of the same name. To view the Acrobat versions, you just need any version of Acrobat Reader. To view the fully animated presentations, you will need:
Because these files are usually very large (since all graphics are included) and will take a long time to download on anything but a high-speed connection. It is strongly suggested that you download the files to your local system (Right-click and "Save file as . . " or "Save Link") and open them after they have downloaded.
Week 1 (January 20): Introduction to X-Ray Powder Diffraction (Acrobat PDF-561 KB, Rev. 1/1/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-3.9MB, Rev. 2/2/10; Acrobat PDF Version of Powerpoint Presentation-1.9MB, 2/2/10)
Week 2 (January 27): Radiation Safety for X-ray Diffraction Users (Acrobat PDF-309 KB, Minor Rev. 1/27/10) (Powerpoint Presentation-585KB, Rev. 2/2/10; Acrobat PDF version of Powerpoint Presentation-1.1MB, Rev 1/27/10)
Week 3 (February 3): Generation of X-Rays (Acrobat PDF-625 KB, Rev. 1/10/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-4.2MB, Rev. 2/2/10; Acrobat PDF Version of Powerpoint Presentation-2.6MB, Rev 2/2/10)
Week 4 (February 10): Crystalography Review (Acrobat PDF-1.6 MB, Rev. 2/3/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-9.0MB, Rev. 2/2/10; Acrobat PDF Version of Powerpoint Presentation-3.9MB; Rev. 2/2/10)
Week 5 (February 17): Introduction to Diffraction and the Reciprocal Lattice (Acrobat PDF-1.5 MB, Rev. 2/17/09) (Powerpoint Presentation-2.7MB, Rev. 2/2/10; Acrobat PDF Version of Powerpoint Presentation-4.3MB; Rev. 2/2/10)
Week 6 (February 24): Diffraction II: Intensities and Extinctions (Acrobat-PDF-665
KB, Rev 2/23/09) (PowerPoint
Presentation-2.8MB, Rev. 3/7/07; Acrobat PDF Version of Powerpoint Presentation-2.3MB; Rev. 2/2/10)
Plus: A Brief Introduction to our Scintag XRD and MDI Software (Powerpoint Presentation-2.5MB, Rev. 2/2/10; Acrobat PDF Version of Powerpoint Presentation-1.3MB 2/2/10). See Week 9 (March 24) listings for Printed Material Related to this topic. .
Week 7 (March 3): An Introduction the use of X-ray Diffraction in Clay Mineralogy (Dr. Dewey Moore) (Reading materials below)
Reading/Study Materials for Clay Mineralogy: Selected chapters from
Moore and Reynolds, "X-Ray Diffraction and the Identification and Analysis
of Clay Minerals" are available online by clicking
on this link. These materials are not available to the general public. You
must enter your valid E&PS network account name and password to access these
materials.
Week 8 (March 10):; Systematic Errors and Sample Preparation (Acrobat-PDF-600
KB, Rev. 3/2/09) (PowerPoint
Presentation-7.9MB 2/2/10; Acrobat PDF Version of Powerpoint Presentation-4.2MB, 2/2/10)
Supplemental Documents: How to use the: Bico Jaw
Crusher,(138 KB PDF); Spex Shatterbox,(150
KB PDF); Brinkmann Grinder (122 KB PDF).
Pre-exam Q&A on any topics covered in first 6 weeks of class (at end of class)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before week 9 all students must have taken and passed the Radiation Safety Exam for X-ray Diffraction Users administered by the Radiation Safety Office of SHEA. This is required to be permitted to work in the Lab.
(March 15-19 is the week of Spring Break)
Week 9 (March 24):;
First Hour Exam (during first hour) (Open-book, open-note in class 1 hour exam; calculators and/or notebook computers may be used if desired) "Hands-on" Scintag Training (during second hour)
Reading/Study Materials: Introduction to Jade and DataScan software (Acrobat-PDF-675
KB, Rev. 2/15/09)
Lab Users are encouraged to provide a personally-owned USB Memory "stick" for use in referencing the Jade 9 help files.
Supplemental Document: Scintag "XRD Lab Cookbook" (Acrobat-PDF-592
KB, Rev. 4/3/09)
Round 1 of "Unknowns" for Laboratory Exercise will be given out. These
will be due before class in Week 12 (in 3 weeks)
Homework Assignment: Use Jade online help and tutorial materials to learn and practice Search/Match methods (Required for Laboratory projects)
Week 10 (March 31):; Review of First Hour Exam; Q&A about Lab Exercises (During first hour);
Introduction to practical Clay Mineral sample preparation and analysis -- Guest Presentation by Anthropology Ph.D. Candidate Connie Constan (During second hour).
(See Referenced materials for Week 7)
Round 2 of "Unknowns" for Laboratory Exercise will be given out. These
will be due before class in Week 13 (in 3 weeks)
Week 11 (April 7): Introduction to Quantitative Methods (Intro to Quant XRD-Acrobat PDF - 379 KB, Rev. 4/13/09; In-class Powerpoint Presentation as an Acrobat PDF - 1.1MB; Added 4/14/09).
Week 12 (April 14):Quantitative Methods Part 1 (Guest Instructor: Eric J. Peterson, Center for Micro Engineered Materials, UNM and Los Alamos National Laboratoy). Class will be held in the EPS Computer Lab (Northrop Rm 209) and involve hands-on work with GSAS/ExpGUI software. A single-file webpage of Eric's Powerpoint Slides for this week's class (3.5 MB) is available by clicking here.
One of the best places to start for understanding the Reitveld method is Dr. Hugo Reitveld's classic 1969 paper -- well written and understandable -- available here in printable HTML format.
Week 13 (April 21): Quantitative Methods Part 2 (Guest Instructor: Eric J. Peterson, Los Alamos National Laboratoy). Class will be held in the EPS Computer Lab (Northrop Rm 209) and involve hands-on work with GSAS/ExpGUI software. A single-file webpage of Eric's Powerpoint Slides for this week's class (13.5 MB large!) is available by clicking here. An Acrobat PDF of the full paper on MICRO-STRAIN IN Y0.5R0.5Ba2Cu3O7-x is available by clicking here.
Week 14 (April 28): Review of "Unknown" Lab Exercises; Other topics to be announced.
Week 15 (May 5): Info about Free or Inexpensive Software Alternatives for X-Ray Diffraction (Software for XRD-Acrobat PDF - 127 KB; Rev. 4/13/09); Open Pre-exam Q&A Session.
Final will be a take-home exam to be completed and turned by no later than 4:00 PM on Wednesday of Finals week.
Week 16 (May 12): Finals Week. Take-home final exam to be turned in by no later than 4:00 PM Wednesday.
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