Local atomic structure in Cd-Mg-Tb quasicrystals by x-ray fluorescence holography

The aim of this proposal is to use X-ray fluorescence holography experiments to provide insight into the positional and chemical disorder of an icosahedral quasicrystal and an appoximant crystal in the Cd-Mg-Tb system. This technique provides unique advantages as a tool to investigate the structure of quasicrystals, particularly because it can directly visualize the local 3-dimensional atomic scale structure in physical space, without being impeded by the phase problem of traditional crystallography. The setup for this experiment is well established, and preliminary computer simulations have already been performed to establish a reference frame for the experimental results.