Computer Programs for Standardless Quantitative Analysis of Minerals Using the Full Powder Diffraction Profile

Abstract

A Fortran 77 computer program has been developed for the quantitative analysis of minerals by multiphase profile analysis of the complete powder diffraction pattern. Featured are full-matrix least-squares refinement of 14 Rietveld “instrumental parameters” (phase scales, asymmetry, preferred orientations (March model), linewidths, instrument zero, lineshapes and unit cell dimensions), Brindley particle absorption contrast factors and amorphicity corrections. The program uses a crystal structure Databank, which contains information on absorption coefficients, unit cell data and crystal structures for some 90 common minerals. New minerals can be easily added. Structure parameters are also refinable by a profile decomposition method using a program called STRUCT. The sum of the calculated patterns, derived from the crystal structure data, is fitted to the observed pattern by a program called TRACSCAL which runs in singlepass multiphase mode and, after the above corrections have been applied, the weight percentages of the component phases are calculated from the Rietveld scaling factors. The program runs on an IBM-compatible AT computer with 640K of RAM, on an extended memory AT, or a mainframe system. Examples of its use are given with standard mixtures and naturally occurring specimens. On an AT computer with 20MHz clock speed a scaling run, including data input, reading of the pattern, processing of (hk l ) files, calculation of the profile and one cycle of least squares fitting takes about 30 seconds for binary standard mixtures and about 2.5 minutes for a 7-phase natural bauxite pattern containing 320 independent (hk l ) reflections.