X-Ray Diffraction is one of the very effective analytical techniques to investigate the crystallinity of material. X-rays falls on the sample to generate diffraction, as the diffraction patterns are collected by the detector to evaluate d-spacing of the sample. The d-spacing of each material is unique; they are compared by standard reference database for identification. The diffracted patterns are generated when the interaction of the sample and the incident X-Ray satisfies the Bragg’s Law i.e nλ=2d sin θ; which is the basis of XRD analysis.

In powder XRD testing, the sample is preferred to be fine-grained as it ensures to achieve good signal to noise ratio and maximum particles participation in diffraction process. The minimum sample amount required for powder XRD sample preparation in a regular powder holder is 500mg. This is considered to be the bulk characterisation technique. For powder XRD 2θ ranges from 10 to 90◦ are typically used.

For XRD testing on solid samples, generally the sample is preferred to be polished to achieve an extreme flat surface free from any contamination. The surface is exposed to incident rays and the diffraction from the top is collected by the moving detector to determine the composition.

For thin films XRD analysis, as the material is supposed to be very thin the X-Ray beam is incident on sample at a small angle also known as Glancing/Grazing Incidence XRD (GIXRD). In this analytical study the incidence angle is fixed to capture diffraction pattern.