The powder X-ray diffraction instrumentation in the facility is designed for the analysis of polycrystalline materials. For the analysis of powders (grain sizes in the range of 20 µm) the Bruker D8 Advance diffractometer is the preferred instrument. This instrument is equipped with a standard Cu source, variable slits (for Bragg-Brentano beam geometry) or Göbel mirrors (for parallel beam geometry), and a Lynx-Eye position-sensitive solid-state detector for high-speed data collection. The instrument also hosts a 9-position sample changer with sample rotation capabilities to automation of data collection. For most users, data collection times range from 5-30 minutes depending on the crystallinity of their materials.

The second PXRD instrument in the facility is a Rigaku SmartLab. This instrument is designated to analyze both powder and non-powder crystalline samples (films, metals, rocks, etc.). This instrument is also equipped with a standard Cu source, variable slits (for Bragg-Brentano beam geometry) or Cross Beam Optics (for parallel beam geometry), and a D/teX position-sensitive solid-state detector. With a variable Z-axis on this instrument, materials up to 30 mm in height can be placed on a flat holder and a surface can be analyzed.

 For PXRD data analysis, the facility maintains a license for the ICDD PDF 4+ powder diffraction database along with analysis software Jade, Eva, and Topas. The database, in combination with the analysis software, allows for quick and easy identification of phases within geologic samples, corrosion products, or other solid-state materials.

The powder X-ray diffraction instruments are located in IATL 196 and managed by Dr. Daniel Unruh.