Course syllabus

Welcome to the course Modern X-ray physics - diffraction and imaging!

This is one course with three different course codes, depending on which kind of student you are:

• FYST51 - Science faculty undergraduates
• EXTQ45 - Engineering faculty undergraduates
• NFY007F - PhD students of all faculties

This 7.5 hp course focuses on hard X-ray interaction with matter. The topics covered include:

• X-ray sources
• Scattering and absorption
• Refraction and reflection from interfaces, refractive index
• X-ray optics
• Scattering from non-crystalline material, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS).
• Scattering from crystalline material: X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform, reciprocal lattice, Ewald’s sphere.
• Scanning X-ray diffraction, surface X-ray diffraction
• Photoelectric absorption, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS/EXAFS)
• X-ray fluorescence (XRF), emission spectroscopy, scanning X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF)
• X-ray detectors
• X-ray imaging: scanning transmission, tomography
• Coherent X-ray imaging: phase contrast, phase retrieval, holography, ptychography

The course is based on the book Als-Nielsen, J. & McMorrow, D. (2011). Elements of modern X-ray physics, 2nd ed. The book can be found online http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9781119998365 Links to an external site. if you want to have a look, although we strongly recommend getting a copy if you take the course.

The course is designed for students that have studied at least 3 years of Physics at the science faculty, or Engineering Physics or Engineering Nanoscience. To be able to follow the course, you should have studied Fourier transforms, Maxwell's equations and basic physics. If you are unsure, just contact Jesper for a discussion.

We will have two lectures and one excercise session per week, a few hand-in assignments, two lab exercises and an exam. We will also visit MAX IV.

If you are a PhD student and you want to take the course, please send Jesper an email. Note that the first lecture is mandatory.

Best regards,

Jesper Wallentin and Johan Gustafson