Effects of magnetic and non-magnetic doping on the vortex lattice in MgB₂

The vortex lattice phase diagram, order and transition kinetics in superconducting MgB₂ doped with either manganese or carbon were studied using small-angle neutron scattering.

Small-angle neutron scattering applied to low-dose neutron-irradiated Fe–Cr alloys and ferritic martensitic steel Eurofer97

Characteristics of irradiation-induced nanofeatures derived from magnetic small-angle neutron scattering are reported for low-dose neutron-irradiated Fe–(5–14)Cr–NiSiP model alloys and the reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic 9Cr steel Eurofer97.

Magnetic nanoprecipitates and interfacial spin disorder in zero-field-annealed Ni₅₀Mn₄₅In₅ Heusler alloys as seen by magnetic small-angle neutron scattering

Magnetic-field-dependent small-angle neutron scattering is employed to disclose the zero-field annealing-induced spin disorder around magnetic nanoprecipitates in an off-stoichiometric Ni₅₀Mn₄₅In₅ Heusler alloy.

Highly effective removal of formaldehyde from aqueous solution using mesoporous ɛ-MnO₂ crystals at room temperature

Effective removal of formaldehyde (HCHO) from solution at room temperature is highly desirable. This work provides a new strategy for the catalytic removal of HCHO by MnO₂ at room temperature.

LaueNN: neural-network-based hkl recognition of Laue spots and its application to polycrystalline materials

An efficient neural network architecture to index Laue spots in synchrotron Laue microdiffraction patterns is presented. The efficiency and predictive capability of the model makes it applicable to real-time indexing of Laue microdiffraction data.

Automated matching of two-time X-ray photon correlation maps from phase-separating proteins with Cahn–Hilliard-type simulations using auto-encoder networks

Two-time correlation maps are classified in a simulation framework using an auto-encoder network.

A new model to describe small-angle neutron scattering from foams

A new model for the interpretation of small-angle neutron scattering data from aqueous foams is presented and validated using experimental data from a model foam system.

Optimizing experimental design in neutron reflectometry

An approach for optimal experimental design of neutron reflectivity experiments using metrics derived from the Fisher information is presented. This is demonstrated on a range of systems including lipid bilayers and magnetic heterostructures, and it is shown that small (or large) changes to the experimental setup can result in drastically reduced experimental count times.

Generating random unit cells

The subtleties of generating random unit cells are discussed.

The effect of transverse wavefront width on specular neutron reflection

The role that the transverse coherent extent of a neutron packet wavefunction plays in the analysis of specular neutron reflectivity is examined both theoretically and experimentally. It is shown how, in practice, the transverse coherent extent of an individual neutron packet wavefront can be measured and distinguished from the effects of geometrical angular divergence for a beam composed of a collection of such independent packets.

Combination of an inject-and-transfer system for serial femtosecond crystallography

A combined inject-and-transfer system has been developed for sample delivery in serial femtosecond crystallography.

The Radon transform as a tool for 3D reciprocal-space mapping of epitaxial microcrystals

Different types of epitaxially grown microcrystals on Si are used for the demonstration of 3D reciprocal-space map reconstruction using the Radon transform. With this technique, high-resolution diffraction reciprocal-space maps in three dimensions can be collected efficiently even with a standard laboratory setup.

Multivariate versus traditional qu­antitative phase analysis of X-ray powder diffraction and fluorescence data of mixtures showing preferred orientation and microabsorption

A case study on the use of both multivariate statistics and traditional methods for ill-conditioned powder samples (microabsorption and preferred orientation) using X-ray fluorescence and diffraction data is presented. Indications and recipes on how to exploit multivariate methods to limit and overcome the difficulties of real-world industrial samples and control the analytical error are given.

Suppression of phase-transition tem­per­ature in aluminium indium tungstate and aluminium indium molybdate

A variable-tem­per­ature synchrotron diffraction study shows that aluminium indium molybdate and aluminium indium tungstate undergo phase transitions from mono­clinic to ortho­rhom­bic structures from the parent com­pounds at much lower tem­per­atures than predicted by Vegard's law. In contrast to many ortho­rhom­bic A₂M₃O₁₂ com­positions, both com­pounds display positive thermal expansion.

Dislocation substructures in pure aluminium after creep deformation as studied by electron backscatter diffraction

In the present work, electron backscatter diffraction is used to investigate the influence of crystal orientation and stress level on the dislocation structures generated during primary and steady-state creep in pure aluminium (99.8%). The goal is to characterize features of the microstructure with a statistically sound approach.

Neutron interference from a split-crystal interferometer

This article reports the first successful operation of a neutron interferometer with a separate beam-recombining crystal. This result is a proof-of-principle demonstration showing that new-generation neutron interferometers and applications are possible.

Orientation evaluation of ultra-high molecular weight polyethyl­ene fibers: previous studies and an improved method

The limitations of the general evaluation methods for microfibril orientation in ultra-high molecular weight polyethyl­ene fibers are discussed, and an improved evaluation method is proposed.

A semi-supervised deep-learning approach for automatic crystal structure classification

A semi-supervised model to predict crystal structures from powder neutron diffraction patterns has been developed. The models have higher accuracies than current approaches while covering more space groups.

Quick and robust PDF data acquisition using a laboratory single-crystal X-ray diffractometer for study of polynuclear lanthanide complexes in solid form and in solution

A powerful approach for total scattering data collection with a laboratory single-crystal diffractometer and data processing software has been developed, suitable for pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. The effectiveness of the approach was demonstrated with reference samples and real-case studies of tetranuclear lanthanide hydroxocarboxyl­ates in solid form and in solution.

In situ study of the preoxidation of polyacrylo­nitrile fibers

Wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering are used for an in situ study of the preoxidation of polyacrylonitrile fibers. The structural evolution characteristics of skeleton and pores in the fibers are described. Physical shrinkage and chemical shrinkage under heating occur successively.

Brittle fracture studied by ultra-high-speed synchrotron X-ray diffraction imaging

Crack propagation in a silicon single-crystal wafer is tracked in situ using synchrotron-based ultra-high speed X-ray diffraction imaging. The high spatio-temporal resolution reached in diffraction imaging mode allows for assessing different parameters such as crack velocity or post crack movements of the separated wafers.

Tem­per­ature dependence in Bragg edge neutron transmission measurements

A systematic study was carried out to investigate the neutron transmission signal as a function of sample tem­per­ature. In particular, the experimentally determined wavelength-dependent neutron attenuation spectra for a martensitic steel at tem­per­atures ranging from 21 to 700°C are com­pared with simulated data.

Method for restoration of X-ray absorption fine structure in sparse spectroscopic ptychography

In this paper, a novel technique is proposed to retrieve the spectrum structure from reduced measurement energy points in spectroscopic ptychography, by utilization of the Kramers–Kronig relationship between absorption and phase contrasts. The spectral restoration of extended X-ray absorption fine structure by this algorithm is successfully demonstrated from both calculated model and spectroscopic ptychography experiment data.

Towards real-time analysis of liquid jet alignment in serial femtosecond crystallography

A novel strategy is presented for sample jet alignment using machine vision for liquid-jet-based sample delivery systems. Feedback using height-resolution images from an optical microscope positioned perpendicular to the path of the X-ray beam enables tracking of the relative alignment of the liquid jet and X-ray beam.

Electron diffraction characterization of nanocrystalline materials using a Rietveld-based approach. Part I. Methodology

Quantitative microstructural characterization of nanocrystalline materials based on Rietveld refinement of electron diffraction patterns has been used to explore sample characteristics. The electron microscope instrumental effects have been considered.

Parameter inversion of a polydisperse system in small-angle scattering

An accurate and efficient method for model- and form-free inversion of a polydisperse small-angle scattering system is presented. It supports an arbitrary number of model parameters and both 1D and 2D intensity observations.

Phase retrieval based on a total-variation-regularized Poisson model for X-ray ptychographic imaging of low-contrast objects

This paper presents a phase-retrieval algorithm for ptychography, named AMPAM. The imaging capability of AMPAM was investigated by numerical simulations and measurements performed at SPring-8.

Small-angle X-ray scattering: characterization of cubic Au nanoparticles using Debye's scattering formula

The Python extension CDEF is a suitable evaluation tool for experimentalists to calculate single-particle small-angle X-ray scattering profiles with satisfactory accuracy, as shown by comparison with common well-known analytical form factors. Using different complex cubic models, a direct comparison between CDEF and the already established SPONGE with respect to the size distribution of imperfect Au nanocubes showed a clear agreement of the results.

Skopi: a simulation package for diffractive imaging of noncrystalline biomolecules

The Skopi software package provides tools to generate realistic simulations of coherent X-ray diffractive imaging of noncrystalline biological samples, which in turn will aid algorithm development for a range of experiments at X-ray free-electron laser sources.

Calculating temperature-dependent X-ray structure factors of α-quartz with an extensible Python 3 package

A Python 3 software package for precise calculation of X-ray structure factors of α-quartz over a wide temperature range is presented. α-Quartz was chosen because of its practical application in high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy, but this software package can be easily extended to other crystals.

Observation of in-plane shear stress fields in off-axis SiC wafers by birefringence imaging

Theoretical consideration and experimental demonstration reveal that the contrast variation in a birefringence image of an off-axis SiC wafer corresponds to the in-plane shear stress field.

MoloVol: an easy-to-use program for analyzing cavities, volumes and surface areas of chemical structures

MoloVol is a free program for calculating volumes and surface areas of molecules and their cavities.

Gwaihir: Jupyter Notebook graphical user interface for Bragg coherent diffraction imaging

In a world where data are steadily made more available, Gwaihir is a tool that overcomes multiple issues by bridging remote access, cluster computing and a user-friendly interface, consequentially improving the link between synchrotrons and their users for Bragg coherent diffraction imaging.

MuMag2022: a software tool for analyzing magnetic field dependent unpolarized small-angle neutron scattering data of bulk ferromagnets

The MATLAB-based software tool MuMag2022 is presented for the analysis of magnetic-field-dependent unpolarized small-angle neutron scattering data of bulk ferromagnets such as elemental nanocrystalline ferromagnets, magnetic nanocomposites or magnetic steels.

GenX 3: the latest generation of an established tool

Improvements to the GenX program are discussed, including performance, model building and error analysis.