Validating classical line profile analyses using microbeam diffraction from individual dislocation cell walls and cell interiors

J. Appl. Cryst. (2012). 45, 157-165 (http://doi.org/hxt)

Synchrotron X-ray system for measuring line profiles from individual dislocation cell walls and individual dislocation cell interiors.

X-ray diffraction is a powerful experimental technique for quantitative analysis of materials microstructure. However, critical assumptions are often required to interpret measurements from sample volumes that significantly exceed the length scales of the microstructural features being studied. We have directly tested long-standing assumptions that are used to analyze volume-averaged X-ray line profiles from deformed metals. Three-dimensional submicrometer-resolution diffraction data were obtained from the dislocation microstructures responsible for the volume-averaged profiles. Our findings show that, without additional constraints, the traditional volume-averaged analyses can produce ambiguous results.