How to Perform Powder XRD with the XYZ Stage - Basic Empyrean Training - Malvern Panalytical

[@susobhandas1329]

I'm unable to fix the very low-intensity issues even during optimization (2 theta, omega, and Z). Can you please guide how to fix it?

[@IAMMDiffractionFacility]

Are you saying that your intensity while aligning is very low? If you perform a direct beam 2theta scan, what is your maximum intensity in cps?

[@pukassein4250]

Question, why would I need to change the divergence slit and the anti-scatter slit for the xyz stage? Thanks

[@IAMMDiffractionFacility]

Are you asking why the divergence and anti-scatter slits are smaller for the alignment step that is necessary for the xyz stage? Or are you asking why you would possibly need to change the slit sizes for actual measurements of your sample?

[@pukassein4250]

@@IAMMDiffractionFacility I was asking about why are the divergence and anti-scatter slits smaller for the xyz stage.

[@IAMMDiffractionFacility]

It's been a while since I have watched the video, so I'm not sure at what point I mentioned smaller slits. However, I'll try to answer a couple of different ways. One reason is that you need the smallest incident beam divergence slit (and an anti-scatter slit 2x bigger than your divergence slit) during sample alignment. Because we are not using the sample holders and stage that automatically align the sample in the X-ray beam, we need to go through the steps to do this manually. When we do this, we want the beam to have a small divergence so that the diffracted X-ray footprint on the detector is smaller. This will help to sharpen the features we see during the alignment scans. Just because you are using the xyz stage, it doesn't mean that you must use smaller slits for data collection (i.e., after alignment). You may need small slits if your sample is small, but this is true regardless of the stage you are using. It is typically best practice to not have the X-ray beam fall off the sample at any time during an X-ray experiment. Preventing the beam from falling off the sample should produce the most accurate diffraction pattern. This is especially important if you want to perform Rietveld refinements. It isn't usually a huge deal for the beam to fall off the sample if you are performing simple phase identification, but be aware that the relative intensities will be affected somewhat. Please let me know if that answered your question.