Laboratory X-Ray Diffraction Grain Mapping Without Synchrotrons

The patent replaces expensive, complex synchrotron sources with a relatively simple laboratory x-ray source. While laboratory sources have lower brightness, the system accepts this trade-off to achieve a practical, accessible measurement system that can be deployed in routine industrial settings rather than requiring access to rare and expensive synchrotron facilities.

The system incorporates an energy-resolving detector that automatically distinguishes diffraction signals from the polychromatic beam spectrum. This self-service capability allows the system to process complex polychromatic data without requiring manual monochromatization, making laboratory-based operation as effective as synchrotron-based monochromatic analysis.

The system segments the x-ray beam into multiple energy components and uses an energy-resolving detector to separately detect diffraction signals from each energy range. This segmentation allows the system to maintain the ease of automated scanning while achieving precise crystallographic measurements by analyzing diffraction patterns at specific energies.

The patent replaces the mechanical FIB milling process with non-destructive x-ray diffraction tomography. Instead of physically removing material layers to expose internal structures, the system uses penetrating x-rays to obtain 3-D grain maps through diffraction contrast, eliminating the destructive nature of EBSD while maintaining measurement precision.