I'm trying to understand some XRD and EBSD images I obtained for Pt films that were deposited and annealed under different conditions.
In the attached image, there are four sets of XRD/EBSD measurements corresponding to Pt films sputtered at different sputter pressures/oxygen fractions. The XRD images show the texture both before and after annealing the films at a high temperature. The EBSD orientation imaging maps (OIM) for the POST-ANNEAL films are shown as the insets. These are colored according to the orientations of the grains, with the mapping shown on the right. As can be seen, the sputter conditions and subsequent anneal have a large effect on film texture.
For the XRD images, the main peaks observed are [111], [200], [220]. I'm guessing this is because Pt has FCC structure, so other planes like [100], [110], correspond to forbidden reflections and are thus not recorded. My question is how exactly this relates to the EBSD images. Does the [200] peak in the XRD image basically arise from the grains that are colored red according to the [001] orientation in the EBSD map, and the [220] peak from the grains colored green according to the [011] orientation? I don't have a very clear understanding of XRD or EBSD so some clarification on how all this works would be much appreciated!
Hi Charmaine,
EBSD will show you the spatial distribution of the crystal/grain orientation, so you can tell which grain in your thin film has which orientation.
XRD data can also contain information on particle shape and preferred orientation (the sample's texture). For standard PXRD this is usually considered an unwanted artifact of the sample preparation. However, if you measure XRD on a thin film like you probably did, this information may be useful and/or desirable. Usually you want to check if EBSD and thin film XRD agree with each other or not.
The first step would be to compare the relative intensity of the XRD reflections (post annealing) with your EBSD data. Take fig.3: the (220) reflection has a strongly increased relative intensity compared to the other reflections ("it's higher than normal"). This is in agreement with the EBSD data as it shows a strong preference for {011}.
Similarly, in Fig 4 you only observe the (111) and the (222) reflection because your thin film has a strong preference for this orientation indicated by the blue color of your EBSD map.
The 2nd step is usually to compare the XRD data before and after annealing to see, if annealing affected the orientation of the grains. If the relative intensities (pre- and post annealing) are identical, the grain orientation and its distribution did not change during annealing. If the relative intensities changed, the distribution of the grain orientation did change during annealing.
The grains are randomly oriented if the relative intensities of your thin film XRD (pre- and/or post annealing) are close to the relative intensities of a standard PXRD pattern without any texture effects like preferred orientation.
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