ABSTRACT
Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXD) at synchrotron beamlines is commonly used for the study of material properties under high pressure and/or high temperature. Experimenters typically rely on the availability of robust data collection and analysis at a beamline, but this has become increasingly difficult, especially with the introduction of multi-element detectors that generate complex, multi-dimensional data sets. These data sets have energy resolution, and they can also be resolved in relation to sample position, diffraction angle, or different external stimuli. We report a new Python-based graphical program, hpMCA, for EDXD data collection and analysis that streamlines the experimental process for the beamline users. The program features a user-friendly interface, capability for online viewing and analyzing data from multi-element energy-dispersive detectors, and includes features useful for working with samples under high pressure and/or high temperature, such as crystal phase identification, real-time unit cell lattice refinement, and pressure determination based on an equation of state.
Acknowledgments
RH thanks Blake Sturtevant, Richard Rowland, Hyunchae Cynn, Seth Iwan, and other early users of hpMCA for providing useful feedback. RH thanks Curtis Kenney-Benson, Eric Rod, Arun Bommannavar for technical help with running the EDXD experiments at 16-BM-B. RH thanks Antonino Miceli for discussions and support related to multi-element detectors. This work was performed at HPCAT (Sector 16), Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory. HPCAT operations are supported by DOE-NNSA's Office of Experimental Sciences.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).