Measuring stacking fault densities in shock-compressed FCC crystals using in situ x-ray diffraction

A method is presented of in situ measurements of stacking fault densities in shocked face-centred-cubic (FCC) crystals using x-ray diffraction. Using results from both the second and fourth diffraction orders, wherein shifts in the Bragg peaks due to faulting are accounted for, we calculated fault densities present in a molecular dynamics ( MD) simulation of shocked single crystal of copper. The results are in good quantitative agreement with dislocation density measurements inferred directly from the MD simulation. The x-ray diffraction method thus presents a real possibility for experimental determination in real time of dislocation densities in crystals during shock wave passage.