Individual dislocation identification in dark-field X-ray microscopy

Dark-field X-ray microscopy (DFXM) has recently been introduced for 3D mapping of dislocations and their strain fields in bulk samples and with high angular resolution (10^-4°). In this work, we investigate the minimum information needed to identify the type of an isolated dislocation, parameterized by its Burgers vector, line direction and slip plane. Forward projections of DFXM weak-beam images are generated for a face-centred cubic symmetry using geometrical optics simulations with realistic noise levels. Cross correlating one DFXM image with similar images representing all possible combinations of dislocation types, we find that the cross-correlation values for all non-identical images are below 0.7, clearly demonstrating the feasibility of this method of identification. Experimental DFXM images of isolated dislocations are compared with forward-modelled ones. Complete identification is demonstrated, with the exception of the sign of the Burgers vector. The performance improvement obtained by acquiring data from a 3D volume is explored. This work verifies the use of geometrical optics to simulate DFXM weak-beam images and supports the interfacing of DFXM data with discrete dislocation dynamics simulations.