Transmission geometry X-ray diffraction for materials research

A study of both Energy Dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) and Angular Dispersive XRD (ADXRD) in a transmission geometry, for materials research purposes has been carried out. Both techniques are sufficiently sensitive to observe structural changes that occur in steel, whether through heating of a sample to induce a phase transformation, or through plastic deformation. EDXRD using HPGe detectors provides the ‘gold standard’ for measurements under laboratory conditions. The information retrievable with the relaxed resolution of a Cadmium–Zinc–Telluride (CZT) detector compares favourably to that of the HPGe. An ADXRD measurement using a more robust apparatus, suitable for more challenging environmental conditions, is sufficiently sensitive to observe the ferrite to austenite phase transformation.