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Introduction to X-Ray Powder Diffraction (EPS 400)

This course will be next offered in Spring, 2009.

The course materials linked on this page are from the previous time this course was offered in Spring 2007. The materials are available here for self-study for anyone who would like to expand their understanding of X-ray powder diffraction. 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.

Basic Course Information:

Instructor-prepared materials will be used for this class, so No Text will be Required
(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.)

Prerequisites
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 advance mathematics is desirable (though not absolutely necessary). Undergraduate and graduate students from other departments may enroll in the course with permission from the instructor. The course is available for graduate credit to E&PS graduate students who complete an additional research project -- see your instructor for requirements.

Radiation Safety Exam
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 March 7th (before 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), and 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.

Instructor: Jim Connolly (connolly@unm.edu)
Office: Northrop, Rm 108 (across from the Main office, near the elevator)
Phone: 505-277-9447
Cell: 505-550-2433

Synopsis of Course

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.

Resource Links for Class

Note: The revision dates for course materials are listed below. Those without a current (2007) revision date have not been updated from the previous time the course was offered.

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.

Instructional Materials

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: 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: The online PowerPoint included here are "single-page webpages" of the "MHT" variety. These are usually very large (6 to 14 MB) because they include all the graphics in the presentation in a single file but usually display more reliably than the versions that access separate graphics files. They basically work just like a regular PowerPoint slide show. To make them work on your computer you will need the following:

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. If loading in directly in Internet Explorer, they will open a new, blank window while downloading, but 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. These files may also be opened directly in Powerpoint (if you have that program) or using Microsoft's free PowerPoint viewer. The 2007 version the the viewer is downloadable at: ftp://eps.unm.edu/pub/microsof/PPntView2007.exe.

Week 1: Introduction to X-Ray Powder Diffraction (Acrobat PDF-561 KB, Rev. 1/1/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-5.5MB, Rev. 1/8/07)

Week 2: Radiation Safety for X-ray Diffraction Users (Acrobat PDF-262 KB, Rev. 1/23/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-846KB, Rev. 1/8/07)

Week 3: Generation of X-Rays (Acrobat PDF-625 KB, Rev. 1/10/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-6.2MB, Rev. 1/10/07)

Week 4: Crystalography Review (Acrobat PDF-1.6 MB, Rev. 2/3/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-13.7MB, Rev. 2/7/07)

Week 5: Class Canceled because of Weather (A SNOW Day!)

Week 6: Introduction to Diffraction and the Reciprocal Lattice (Acrobat PDF-1.5 MB, Rev. 2/10/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-11.4MB, Rev. 3/7/07) and
Part of: Diffraction II: Intensities and Extinctions (Acrobat-PDF-570 KB, Rev 2/10/07) (PowerPoint Presentation-4.7MB, Rev. 3/7/07)

Week 7: Conclusion of: Diffraction II: Intensities and Extinctions;
Beginning of Systematic Errors and Sample Preparation (Acrobat-PDF-592 KB, Rev. 2/25/07) (PowerPoint Presentation-3.5MB 3/7/07))
Supplemental Documents: How to use the: Bico Jaw Crusher,(138 KB PDF); Spex Shatterbox,(150 KB PDF); Brinkmann Grinder (122 KB PDF).

Week 8: Pre-exam Q&A on any topics covered in first 6 weeks of class; "Hands-on" Scintag Training;
Introduction to Jade and DataScan software (Acrobat-PDF-668 KB, Rev. 3/6/07)
Lab Users (an EPS Network Username and password are required) can access the Jade 8 Help Files here.
Supplemental Document: Scintag "XRD Lab Cookbook" (Acrobat-PDF-400 KB, Rev. 1/2/05)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before this class, 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.

Week 9: First Hour Exam; Discussion of Lab Projects and Proposal Requirements.

Homework Assignment: Use Jade online help and tutorial materials to learn and practice Search/Match methods (Required for Laboratory projects)

Week 10: Clay Mineralogy and XRD Part 1 (Dr. Dewey Moore) (See information below for reading materials)
Round 1 of "Unknowns" for Laboratory Exercise will be given out. These will be due on April 25th (in 3 weeks)
(Graduate-level research proposals are due no later than this date.)

Reading 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 11: Clay Mineralogy and XRD Part 2 (Dr. Dewey Moore)
Round 2 of experimental "Unknowns" for has been canceled; An exercise using existing "unknown" XRD patterns has been added. Students will be given one or more experimental patterns and a question to answer about them using Jade in the XRD laboratory. These exercises will be distributed electronically to student's "L:" drive folders on Monday, April 9 and reports due on Monday, May 2nd (in 3 weeks).

Week 12: Q&A about Lab Exercises; Introduction to Quantitative Methods (Intro to Quant XRD-Acrobat PDF - 478 KB).

Week 13: 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 14: Quantitative Methods Part 2 (Guest Instructor: Eric J. Peterson, Los Alamos National Laboratoy). 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 15: Info about Free or Inexpensive Software Alternatives for X-Ray Diffraction (Software for XRD-Acrobat PDF - 124 KB; Rev. 4/29/07); Discussion of "Unknown" determinations and Open Q&A Session.

Week 16: Finals Week

Click here to return to the E&PS X-Ray Diffraction Lab home page.

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