Diffraction from twisted nanowires: helicity revealed by anisotropy

Marc Gailhanou (1) , Jean-Marc Roussel (1)

1 IM2NP - Institut des Matériaux, de Microélectronique et des Nanosciences de Provence

The helical nature of twisted nanowires is studied by simulated X-ray diffraction. It is shown that this helicity is revealed by the anisotropy, which can be both an elastic anisotropy, through the warping displacement generated by torsion, or a shape anisotropy of the cross section. To support the analytical calculations, based on the kinematic theory of diffraction by helices, atomistic simulations of copper nanowires are performed.

Keywords: simulated X-ray diffraction; torsion; twisted nanowires; helicity; anisotropy

Domains: Materials Science [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]; Cristallography; Solid mechanics [physics.class-ph]; Materials; Computational Physics [physics.comp-ph]; Optics [physics.optics]

Marc Gailhanou, Jean-Marc Roussel. Diffraction from twisted nanowires: helicity revealed by anisotropy. Journal of Applied Crystallography, 2018, 51 (6), ⟨10.1107/s1600576718013493⟩. ⟨hal-01925048⟩