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Coherent X-ray diffraction imaging of strain at the nanoscale

Nature Materials volume 8, pages 291–298 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The understanding and management of strain is of fundamental importance in the design and implementation of materials. The strain properties of nanocrystalline materials are different from those of the bulk because of the strong influence of their surfaces and interfaces, which can be used to augment their function and introduce desirable characteristics. Here we explain how new X-ray diffraction techniques, which take advantage of the latest synchrotron radiation sources, can be used to obtain quantitative three-dimensional images of strain. These methods will lead, in the near future, to new knowledge of how nanomaterials behave within active devices and on unprecedented timescales.

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Figure 1: Schematic of the isostrain method used to measure the strain inside quantum dot structures30.
Figure 2: Strain due to patterning of silicon.
Figure 3: Visualization of strain inside a Pb nanocrystal.
Figure 4: New results from CXD experiments ongoing at APS beamline 34-ID-C.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the collaboration of M. Watari, M. Newton, S. J. Leake, R. A. McKendry and G. Aeppli in the experimental work presented in Fig. 4. That previously unpublished research was supported by a Royal Society Wolfson Award, a European Seventh Framework Programme Advanced Grant and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant EP/D052939/1. The CXD instrumentation, based at APS beamline 34-ID-C, was built with US National Science Foundation grant DMR-9724294 and supported by the Materials Research Laboratory of the University of Illinois under US Department of Energy (DOE) contract DEFG02-91ER45439. The APS is operated by the US DOE contract number W 31 109 ENG 38.

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  1. London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College, 17–19 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AH, UK

    Ian Robinson

  2. Diamond Light Source, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0DE, Oxfordshire, UK

    Ian Robinson

  3. Advanced Photon Source, Argonne, 60439, Illinois, USA

    Ross Harder

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Correspondence to Ian Robinson.

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Robinson, I., Harder, R. Coherent X-ray diffraction imaging of strain at the nanoscale. Nature Mater 8, 291–298 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2400

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