This thesis provides the first successful study of jump diffusion processes in glasses on the atomic scale, utilizing a novel coherent technique. This new method, called atomic-scale X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy or aXPCS, has only recently been proven to be able to capture diffusion processes with atomic resolution in crystal systems. With this new toolkit for studying atomic diffusion in amorphous systems, new insight into basic processes in a wide range of technically relevant materials, like fast ionic conductors, can be obtained.

Diffusion in solids at moderate temperatures is a well-known phenomenon. However, direct experimental evidence about the responsible atomic-scale mechanisms has been scarce, due to difficulties in probing the relevant length- and time-scales. The present thesis deals with the application of X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS) for answering such questions. This is an established method for the study of slow dynamics on length-scales of a few nanometres. The scattered intensity in the diffuse regime, i.e. corresponding to atomic distances, is very low, however, and so it has so far been considered impossible to use XPCS for this problem. Threefold progress is reported in this work: It proposes a number of systems selected for high diffuse intensity, it optimizes the photon detection and data evaluation procedures, and it establishes theoretical models for interpretating the results. Together these advances allowed the first successful atomic-scale XPCS experiment, which elucidated the role of preferred configurations for atomic jumps in a copper-gold alloy. The growth in available coherent X-ray intensity together with next-generation X-ray sources will open up a wide field of application for this new method.

This fifth edition of the highly regarded family of titles that first published in 1965 is now a three-volume set and over 3,000 pages. All chapters have been revised and expanded, either by the fourth edition authors alone or jointly with new co-authors. Chapters have been added on the physical metallurgy of light alloys, the physical metallurgy of titanium alloys, atom probe field ion microscopy, computational metallurgy, and orientational imaging microscopy. The books incorporate the latest experimental research results and theoretical insights. Several thousand citations to the research and review literature are included. - Exhaustively synthesizes the pertinent, contemporary developments within physical metallurgy so scientists have authoritative information at their fingertips - Replaces existing articles and monographs with a single, complete solution - Enables metallurgists to predict changes and create novel alloys and processes

Fifth volume of a 40 volume series on nanoscience and nanotechnology, edited by the renowned scientist Challa S.S.R. Kumar. This handbook gives a comprehensive overview about X-ray and Neutron Techniques for Nanomaterials Characterization. Modern applications and state-of-the-art techniques are covered and make this volume an essential reading for research scientists in academia and industry.

High-resolution x-ray diffraction and scattering is a key tool for structure analysis not only in bulk materials but also at surfaces and buried interfaces from the sub-nanometer range to micrometers. This book offers an overview of diffraction and scattering methods currently available at modern synchrotron sources and illustrates bulk and interface investigations of solid and liquid matter with up-to-date research examples. It presents important characteristics of the sources, experimental set-up, and new detector developments. The book also considers future exploitation of x-ray free electron lasers for diffraction applications.

Mössbauer spectroscopy is uniquely able to probe hyperfine interactions by looking at the short-range order of resonant atoms. Materials containing an appropriate isotope as one of their constituent atoms, such as iron or tin, are readily investigated. But even materials that do not contain Mössbauer-active atoms can be investigated if the probe atoms are incorporated in minor quantities (ca. 0.1 at.-%) to act as molecular-level indicators. These 35 papers collected here represent a state-of-the-art description of Mössbauer spectroscopy techniques applied to advanced materials. The topics covered comprise investigations of nanomaterials, nanoparticles, and quasicrystals, artificially structured materials as well as applications of Mössbauer spectroscopy in chemistry, mineralogy and metallurgy. The main aim of is the dissemination of information on research and recent developments of the method in materials science as obtained in leading Mössbauer laboratories.