Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 March 2019
The integrated and peak intensities of a series of silicon powder samples of various crystallite sizes were measured with a computer automated diffractometer and a profile fitting method (PFM). The accuracy of the PFM was better than 0.003% in computing the integrated intensities. The PFM gave more precise values than would be expected from counting statistics of the peak intensity. The average difference between each measurement and the average intensity was 0.5% with little dependence oo the absolute intensity. Crystallite sizes have a large effect and it is essential to rotate the specimen around the diffraction vector. The best results were obtained with <10 μm particles. Larger sizes decrease the absolute intensities and change the relative intensities. Structure refinement using the POWLS (powder least squares refinement) program showed the presence of (111) preferred orientation even in the <10 μm specimens. R(Bragg) decreased from 4.3% to 0.7% by including the preferred orientation correction in the refinement.