Professor Justin Wark

Abstract:

In an article entitled A new theory for X-ray diffraction [Fewster (2014). Acta Cryst. A70, 257–282], hereafter referred to as NTXRD, it is claimed that when X-rays are scattered from a small crystallite, whatever its size and shape, the diffraction pattern will contain enhanced scattering at angles of exactly 2B, whatever the orientation of the crystal. It is claimed that in this way scattering from a powder, with randomly oriented crystals, gives rise to Bragg scattering even if the Bragg condition is never satisfied by an individual crystallite. The claims of the theory put forward in NTXRD are examined and they are found to be in error. Whilst for a certain restricted set of shapes of crystals it is possible to obtain some diffraction close to (but not exactly at) the Bragg angle as the crystallite is oriented away from the Bragg condition, this is generally not the case. Furthermore, contrary to the claims made within NTXRD, the recognition of the origin of the type of effects described is not new, and has been known since the earliest days of X-ray diffraction.

Abstract:

We have used femtosecond x-ray diffraction to study laser-shocked fiber-textured polycrystalline tantalum targets as the 37–253 GPa shock waves break out from the free surface. We extract the time and depth-dependent strain profiles within the Ta target as the rarefaction wave travels back into the bulk of the sample. In agreement with molecular dynamics simulations, the lattice rotation and the twins that are formed under shock compression are observed to be almost fully eliminated by the rarefaction process.

Abstract:

In this work, we demonstrate simultaneous phase-contrast imaging (PCI) and X-ray diffraction from shock compressed matter at the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) endstation, Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). We utilize the chromaticity from compound refractive X-ray lenses to focus the 24.6 keV 3rd order undulator harmonic of the LCLS to a spot size of 5 μm on target to perform X-ray diffraction. Simultaneous PCI from the 8.2 keV fundamental X-ray beam is used to visualize and measure the transient properties of the shock wave over a 500 μm field of view. Furthermore, we demonstrate the ability to extend the reciprocal space by 5˚A−1, relative to the fundamental X-ray energy, by utilizing X-ray diffraction from the 3rd harmonic of the LCLS.