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Tutorials and Examples

CRYSFIRE Powder Indexing System for DOS/Windows by Robin Shirley et al

Inputting a column list of peak positions / observations into Crysfire

The CCP14 Homepage is at http://www.ccp14.ac.uk

[Tutorials page] | [CRYSFIRE Tutorial Index] | [Crysfire What's New] | [LMGP Suite Chekcell Index] | [Powder Diffraction Indexing Resources]

Obtaining and installing CRYSFIRE

NOTE: A graphical program for MS-Windows that links into CRYSFIRE to help check trial cells and determine spacegroups is the Chekcell software - part of the LMGP suite for Windows by Jean Laugier and Bernard Bochu.

This run through will use the peak list file obtained in the Lithium Titanate Fundamental Parameters Peak Profiling Tutorial. (I.E. Grey, L. M. D. Cranswick, C. Li, L. A. Bursill, and J. L. Peng, "New Phases Formed in the Li-Ti-O System under Reducing Conditions", Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 138, 74-86 (1998))

However, given the sample was degrading/decomposing, it would be best to remove the most dodgy or uncertain of peaks (53.040, 53.277, 66.1785 two-theta).

The two-theta peak positions from the CuK alpha1 (1.54056 Angstrom) radiation follow

12.5831
18.1218
21.7033
22.5138
25.2850
30.6924
31.8536
35.9363
36.2206
36.6577
38.3112
39.4055
40.1827
40.8568
42.0205
43.3337
44.1743
44.4603
45.9253
47.8406
48.8522
51.6880
52.8706
55.1945
57.9764
58.4374
59.1862
61.6021
62.8889
63.7227
65.3320
65.8139
67.6632
68.5040

Also, note that depending on the problem, manual optimisation of each Index input file may be required (i.e., manual insertion, deletion of peaks, change default volume range, restrict to certain cell types, etc.) This run through gives a generic run that (in one case) just happens to work (and it is a real, recently published structure solution).


Note: The following is just a single example of using CRYSFIRE. There are other methods of interacting with the program and doing the following.


A comment from Robin Shirley about filenames and descriptive text

From: Robin Shirley [R.Shirley@surrey.ac.uk]
Organization: Psychology Dept, Surrey Univ. U.K.
To: Lachlan Cranswick [l.m.d.cranswick@dl.ac.uk]
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 18:43:55 GMT

Incidentally, in this context, could you please emphasise in your
tutorials the importance of spending the few seconds that it takes to
give each new dataset a well-chosen name and some helpful brief
descriptive text in its description field, seeing that whatever is used
there will remain the default throughout the rest of the analysis?

Careful dataset naming really is important for keeping track of progress
in any serious study that can involve several dataset variants, and
such distinctive names have been assumed throughout Crysfire as the basis 
of its data organisation.

Users shouldn't rely just on having kept each problem separate within
its own data directory (folder).

While that's important, it's *not* sufficient, because (a) doing that
only identifies the directory, not the files within it, and (b) as the
study progresses, it's likely that several datasets and dataset variants
will be required, for example after recalibration, applying estimated
Z2theta or specimen-displacement corrections, rescaling, etc.

These will all need to be kept in the same directory so that, for
example, their trial cells can easily be loaded and examined (LC, M1,
etc), but if they aren't given different names (and preferably also
different description fields - see below) then complete confusion will
quickly result.

Since the description field gets appended to every summary-file solution 
line, an important opportunity is lost if its contents can't act as an 
aide memoire of the characteristics of the particular dataset or dataset
variant that was used for that trial solution.

This becomes particularly relevant when datasets are merged and/or
rescaling/unscaling is used, as was discussed above and as is
increasingly likely to happen in response to the new volume estimates
and rescaling prompts in CF2002.

I'm already regretting that I short-sightedly left it far too easy in
WF2crys and XF2crys for users to default to an undistinctive and
meaningless dataset name like Crys.cdt (I've noticed that you are 
yourself a frequent offender in this regard!), and I may well look at 
ways to prevent this in the next revisions of those programs.

As things stand, it's too easy for a moment's impatience on the part of
the user at this basic choice point to handicap all subsequent work on
that sample with a basically null name (and description) - I really
should have had the foresight to protect users from this pitfall.

(A bit of a rant, perhaps, but I do think the point needs making.)

With best wishes

Robin


If running under Windows, go into a DOS Prompt and create/enter the appropriate subdirectory where you wish to perform the indexing. In this case example, C:\crysfire\cf_exmp\liti. Type CRYSFIRE, when prompted, agree to the Licence to give the following the menu interface.

Starting crysfire interface


Typing Help leads to a help system including the commands that it recognises (organised in several different ways).

Crysfire Help System


To enter a new set of peak positions, type OB (as per the help menu), when prompted, input T for peaks listed in 2-theta, then accept the defaults for the queries the program offers.


Rather than type in the peak positions by hand (introducing errors in the process), use the Windows Edit copy, edit paste at this point. Just select and Edit, Copy the column of peak positions and Edit, Paste into CRYSFIRE (Windows allows you to do this for DOS "Windows") It is best to avoid manual typing in of values as this always introduces errors; edit copy, edit pasting is a much better option. There is no need to specify the wavelength as CRYSFIRE uses Copper K Alpha as the default.

Note that on some Windows systems, you may have to wiggle the mouse for the paste to occur. If you do Edit, Paste and nothing happens, try wiggling the mouse. If nothing happens, Edit, Copy the peak positions and try again.

Pressing the Enter Key twice after the last peak position then prompts for further information such as the filename for the dataset.

In this case, we will call the filename crys. This will create a file called crys.cdt


It should be noted that to save the Crysfire CDT file, you use the SA command (no extension is needed). When in doubt, make sure to save the CDT file using this command so you do not lose anything.


Self Calibration and running the Indexing programs

Normally you would try an indexing run (and failing) before trying Self Calibration. However, for this example, we are going to show Self Calibration being performed out of the normal indexing sequence.

Self-calibrate the sample for a possible two-theta offset or sample displacement. (in this case we will be using the two-theta offset option but it would be best to play around with both avaiable options as sample displacement is potentially a better thing to use)

It would be best to have used either a very well calibrated/aligned diffractometer and a silicon internal standard, but in this case, non-optimal data collection conditions on this degrading sample were used.

Thus type (again check the help if you cannot remember these) the SC command for self-calibration. Crysfire now prompts whether we wish to go with the default of a two-theta offset correction or sample displacement. For flat plate Bragg-Bretano data, it would be best to go with the sample displacement option by typing T.

Select the default then CRYSFIRE should provide a list of two-theta offset pairs for selection.

In this case, the lowest angle (with the lowest risk of peak overlap) is probably the best one to select. However, you may like to check whether the self calibration is telling a consistent story with respect to peak offset/sample displacement. Tell Crysfire you wish to accept one of the values by typing T, then select the 1st trial pair by typing 1. Doing a LIST command in CRYSFIRE confirms that the 2-theta offset correction has been applied (in the case of this screen dump: 0.00030116).

Be very wary of applying the Self Calibration option; especially if you are confident that the diffractometer is well aligned and the sample well prepared and collected. Misapplying self calibration may put you in a world of pain by applying inappropriate offsets to you data. If you believe your data has problems, it can be far more effective to recollect a "good" dataset.

Crysfire will then suggest you save the file with SCT (Self Calibration T option) appended to the filename so that it is obvious what data correction process has been applied. Plus Crysfire will add an SCT comment to the title, in this case, SCT=0.000301


From: Robin Shirley [R.Shirley@surrey.ac.uk]
Organization: Psychology Dept, Surrey Univ. U.K.
To: Lachlan Cranswick [l.m.d.cranswick@dl.ac.uk]
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 19:22:30 GMT
Subject: Re: CRYS and Tutorial on CCP14 site

"Referring again to the tutorial example, I think there may be some 
additional ramifications re the -0.0349 2Theta correction which has been 
applied following self-calibration:

a) Firstly, a brief cautionary note may be helpful re relying on just the 
first line-pair for the 2theta correction.  

While it's true that this pair will carry the lowest risk of line-overlap
problems, it's also true that (unless based on a line profile based on
fundamental instrumental parameters) the first and therefore lowest-angle
line is the most likely to be affected by various abberrations which can 
shift its apparent position relative to the rest of the pattern. and hence 
liable to be one of the least accurately measured. 

While there is certainly no harm in trying out the effect of applying a zero
correction based on a single line-pair, personally I like to see values from 
two line pairs, that more or less agree with each other, before placing too 
much confidence in the resulting correction, since with such small numbers it 
is quite easy to get an apparent "second order" matching which actually 
arises by chance."

You are now ready to try the Indexing programs inside Crysfire

Refer to:


[Tutorials page] | [CRYSFIRE Tutorial Index] | [Crysfire What's New] | [LMGP Suite Chekcell Index] | [Powder Diffraction Indexing Resources]

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