Neutron Powder Diffraction and
Rietveld Refinement Workshop

Room 451 Riddick Hall
NC State University
Raleigh. N.C.

Neutron powder diffraction in conjunction with Rietveld refinement analysis provides the materials scientist, chemist or physicist with fundamental information on the struc­ture of materials. It is particularly useful in those studies that correlate materials properties with structure or compo­sition. The utility of the technique has prompted the design and construction of a new generation of extremely powerful instruments at the national neutron beam laboratories such as the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS - Oak Ridge National Laboratory) .

The PULSTAR Neutron Powder Diffractometer at North Carolina State University in Raleigh has recently been commissioned and commenced routine operations. The POWGEN3 diffractometer at the SNS is expected to be in operation in the last quarter of 2008. These two new instruments will provide significant scientific opportunities for students, faculty and scientists from the Triangle area in a variety of fields.

The Nuclear Reactor Program and the Nuclear Engineer­ing Department of North Carolina State University will host a 1-day workshop to introduce the local scientific commu­nity to neutron powder diffraction and Rietveld analysis. The objective of the workshop is to provide grounding in the basic theory of neutron powder diffraction, an introduc­tion to Rietveld refinement using GSAS, and an opportunity for hands-on operation of the PULSTAR Neutron Powder Diffractometer (PNPD). A description of the instruments, status and scientific opportunities at the SNS will also be a part of the workshop.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop computers. CD-Roms containing GSAS, EXPGUI and CMPR, programs used in the analysis of neutron diffraction data, will be available so that each participant can install the analysis programs on their own computer.

During th e afternoon session, workshop participants will work through examples of Rietveld analysis of both reactor based and time-of-flight neutron diffraction data. The work­shop leaders will be available to provide assistance. Partic­ipants who are interested in using the PNPD to collect preliminary data are encouraged to contact R. Berliner who will arrange to run the samples in advance of the Work­shop. Analysis of this data can then be initiated during the Workshop.

PNPD under construction and in operation

Page last modified on June 5, 2008