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.
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 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.
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
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.
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.
Note: The revision dates for course materials are listed below. Most of the materials used will be from the last time the course was offered (2007). 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: The online PowerPoint presentations 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 Microsoft 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-6.7MB, Minor Rev. 2/3/09)
Week 4: Crystalography Review (Acrobat PDF-1.6 MB, Rev. 2/3/07) (Powerpoint Presentation-13.7MB, Rev. 2/7/07)
Week 5: Introduction to Diffraction and the Reciprocal Lattice (Acrobat PDF-1.5 MB, Rev. 2/17/09) (Powerpoint Presentation-11.4MB, Rev. 3/7/07)
Week 6: Part of: Diffraction II: Intensities and Extinctions (Acrobat-PDF-665 KB, Rev 2/23/09) (PowerPoint Presentation-4.7MB, Rev. 3/7/07)
Week 7: Systematic Errors and Sample Preparation (Acrobat-PDF-600
KB, Rev. 3/2/09) (PowerPoint
Presentation-11.5MB 3/9/09))
Supplemental Documents: How to use the: Bico Jaw
Crusher,(138 KB PDF); Spex Shatterbox,(150
KB PDF); Brinkmann Grinder (122 KB PDF).
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before week 8 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 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-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)
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 before class in Week 13 (in 3 weeks)
(Graduate-level research proposals from EPS Grad Students are due no later than this date.)
Click on this link to download Dr. Moore's Powerpoint Presentation (as a 4.8MB Adobe PDF) from this class.
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): Clay Mineral Structures and modeling their diffraction patterns with NEWMOD. Click on this link to download Dr. Moore's Powerpoint Presentation (as a 605KB Adobe PDF) from this class.
Round 2 of experimental "Unknowns" will be given out. These will be due before class in Week 14 (in 3 weeks) along with a sample report from a hypothetical "unknown" prepared by your instructor as a working example of how to do it. .
Week 12: Q&A about Lab Exercises; 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 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 - 127 KB; Rev. 4/13/09); Discussion of "Unknown" determinations and Open 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: Finals Week. Take-home final exam to be turned in by no later than 4:00 PM Wednesday.
Click here to return to the E&PS X-Ray Diffraction Lab home page.
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