Opportunities for Materials Analysis with Next Generation Synchrotron Sources

Polycrystalline and powder diffraction is the most commonly practised method of x-ray analysis. During the last decade the construction of dedicated synchrotron radiation sources has resulted in the renaissance of these x-ray analysis methods; ab initio structure analysis and refinement, quantitative analysis of the structure, composition and stress in thin films and on surfaces, have all been improved. New techniques providing extremely high resolution, using anomalous dispersion, diffraction and scattering at grazing incidence to control x-ray penetration depth, have been developed. This brief review of work with W. Parrish at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and R. J. Cernik at the Daresbury Synchrotron Radiation Source is extended to indicate how third generation sources might be exploited in materials science.