Lab Manager: Franklin Hobbs, E-mail: fhobbs@wisc.edu, (608)890-0928 (office), (608)262-0915 (lab)

Our facility is located in room A353 Weeks Hall. Campus researchers trained in the use of the instrument are encouraged to make full use of the analytical capabilities and expertise offered by this laboratory at a modest rate. We offer training in basic theory and technique. The beginner user may trained for Scintag instrument first, and after Franklin or Huifang's permission you can take the second training session for to use Rigaku instrument. Download a copy of our User's guide for Scintag (pdf) and User's guide for Rigaku (pdf).

Sign up for time on the calender. Check out the scheduling rules. Latest information about the status of the instrument is posted on the calender, at the very top of the page. Always check out that message. Our laboratory features a Scintag PADV X-ray Diffractometer. Review its analytical capabilities. To learn more about XRD, visit links at the Univ. of New Mexico XRD lab's page. There are also class notes from the course that Jim Connelly teaches there. Excellent!

Professor Huifang Xu (email) is in charge of the XRD lab and is assisted by Franklin Hobbs (email), phone: (608)890-0928 (office), (608)262-0915 (lab).

Scintag PAD V

We installed a new Cu Ka X-ray tube (10-15-2013), rated at 2.0 KW. We intend to operate it at 45 kV and 40 mA (exceptions: previous users who wish to continue to run their samples at 40 kV and 35 mA will be permitted).

Service for our Scintag Pad V provided by Compass Engineering Company.

Rigaku D/Max Rapid II

The Rigaku D/Max Rapid II diffractometer with a curved two-dimensional imaging plate (2D IP) is designed specifically for micro-area analysis. The Mo Ka X-ray tube operates at 50kV and 50mA (rated at 2.5 KW). The combination of 2D IP and the high intensity X-ray source gives increased diffraction X-ray intensity. Attached in situ device enables rapid measurements of the change in the crystal structure with phase transition as well as thin films analysis.

Training

New Users: All new users MUST undergo training in order to use these diffractometers. While previous XRD experience on similar machines will facilitate your learning experience, the X-ray safety training and the training (1-2 hours) on the Scintag hardware and software is MANDATORY. All the new users should take the X-ray safety training (provided by the X-ray safety officer) and answer the quiz. The X-ray safety permission will be sent to those who passed the exam within a couple of days. Without the X-ray safety permission nor machine user permission, it is not allow to use any X-ray diffractometer in our lab. Only the advanced users may get trained for Rigaku diffractometer later. Violators of this rule will be denied further access to this facility, and responsible for penalty and all repair costs.

Rates

XRD rate for Academic users

• The charge for Scintag machine is $15/hour.
• The charge for Rigaku machine is $25/pattern.
• The charge for training is $40/hour for labor. The training cost can be split by having several (maximum 3) students being trained at the same time.
• Additional charge for using the glass capillary is $5/each.

XRD rate for Non Academic users

• The charge for Scintag machine is $25/hour.
• The charge for Rigaku machine is $50/pattern.
• The charge for training is $40/hour for labor. The training cost can be split by having several (maximum 3) students being trained at the same time.

Consultation and data analysis fee

Scheduling Rules

General use hours are Mon-Fri 8am-7pm, advanced users may use the XRD after hours. No one may use the XRD overnight (10pm-7am) without permission from Franklin or Huifang. No one may use the XRD on the weekend (10pm Friday night - 6am Monday morning) without our permission.

Please be on time for your session! We have many users competing for time and the schedule fills up quickly. If no one is using the instrument 20 minutes after a scheduled session, that time is then freely available. Therefore, if you are more than twenty minutes late for your session, you may lose your time. For booking your experiment for both Scintag and Rigaku (only advanced users with permission) please use the schedule with the username and password provided after your training session.

MDI DataScan4, RINT RAPID, JXG, 2DP, JADE (for phase identification and quantitative analysis), PDF-4 (powder database, full set)

Analytical capabilities of the XRD lab:

Powder Diffraction: Particle sizing, Strain analysis, Phase identification, Structure refinement, Quantitative phase composition, Lattice parameter determination, Characterization of amorphous components, Pole Figures Texture (preferred orientation), Single crystal orientation determination, Bicrystal orientation determination.

See the detail applications (download pdf)

Links to XRD resources:

There are couple of great resource to provide you the background knowledge of XRD. Books are available at the geology library. Links to XRD resources are below.

• Modern Powder Diffraction by Bish and Post(1989), Vol.20 of the Mineralogical Society of America's Reviews in Meneralogy.

• X-ray Diffraction and Identification and Analysis of Clay Minerals (2nd edition) by Moore and Reynolds, Oxford University Press (1997)

• General Structure Analysis System package for refinement of structural models (NIST site)
• ICDD Home Page
• Denver X-ray Conferences

• Clay Minerals Society
• Clay Mineralogy Lecture notes by Paul Schroeder of University of Georgia
• Mineral Structure Database by Joe Smyth at Univ. of Colorado
• American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database
• USGS Clay Mineral Identification Flow Program

• Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD)
• Alloy Phase Diagram Database (ASM)

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