Scientific visualization: Analysis, exploration and presentation of tri-axial stress states of Kr+ implanted titanium determined by X-ray diffraction

The stress states encountered in ion implanted materials are often complicated, and, so analysis, and hence presentation thereof, is incomplete due to unavailability of computational and visual tools. Stress states determined by X-ray and neutron diffraction are usually calculated from the gradient of sin2Ψ curves. This process, inter alia, contracts the stress to a scalar, losing the directionality and multivariate nature of the real stress state. In this paper we present a novel approach to the stress profile analysis and presentation obtained by X-ray diffraction. Stress is considered as a tensorial quantity, from the initial measurement phase to the final presentation. This discussion inherently brings in the depth resolution of stresses, which in turn are explained by means of clear visual explanations. Visual tools, which are not common use in the field, are introduced and the benefits as applied to ion implantation are discussed.