Analysis of the asymptotic properties of X-ray line broadening caused by dislocations

A new evaluation method and its application are discussed in detail for the determination of some important statistical parameters of a dislocation assembly, namely the average dislocation density, the average fluctuation of the dislocation density and the average polarization, from the X-ray diffraction line profile. The method is based only on the analytical properties of the strain field of dislocations, regardless of the actual form of the dislocation distribution, so it can also be applied to inhomogeneous dislocation structures. The applicability of the evaluation procedure is demonstrated for broadened Bragg peaks of deformed Cu single crystals and of nanocrystalline Cu produced by inert-gas condensation.