Croat. Chem. Acta 69 (1996) 1069-1115.

Diffraction Line Broadening – Nuisance or Lattice-Imperfections Fingerprints

Davor Balzar

X-ray Laboratory, Division of Materials Science and Electronics, Departement of Physics, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, P. O. Box 1016, 10001 Zagreb, Croatia, E-mail: dbalzar@olimp.irb.hr

Diffraction lines are broadned for two reasons: instrumental configuration and physical origins. The later yields information on materials microstructure. The complete process of line broadening analysis is discussed, beginning with experimental procedures and a correction for instrumental broadening. In the analysis of the physically broadened line profile, the main emphasis is given to the widely used methods of separation of size and strain broadening: the Warren-Averbach approximation and integral-breadth methods. The integral-breadth methods are collated and their reliability discussed. Close attention is given to an assumed Voigt-function profile shape for both size-broadened and strain-broadened profiles because it is shown that a Voight function fits satisfactorily the physically broadened line profiles of W and MgO obtained by the Stockes- deconvolution method. The subsequent analyses of broadening are performed by using the Warren-Averbach and “double-Voigt” approches and results are compared.