A New Analysis Method for Two-dimensional X-ray Data

Improvements in X-ray optics and detectors have led to unprecedented challenges in interpreting diffraction information. One challenge is obtaining strain results from Debye-Scherrer rings originating from a few grains of material. In addition, results are typically desired from multiple rings over hundreds or thousands of exposures. Current two-dimensional analysis methods build on existing one-dimensional powder diffraction analysis methods. While informative, such analyses are not optimally tuned for extracting average powder-like strains from spotty or noisy rings. A two-dimensional analysis method where both 2θ and the azimuthal direction were fit simultaneously was implemented and tested on two-dimensional diffraction data taken from a synchrotron source and compared to results from more traditional one-dimensional stepwise fits to the same diffraction data. Advantages include improved fitting statistics for spotty rings, reduced susceptibility to translation error, and successful analysis in cases where the traditional methods fail.