RaDMaX is now available as a web application. Visit RaDMaX online for more details.

A windows exe file is available. Visit http://www.unilim.fr/pages_perso/alexandre.boulle/radmax.html for more details.

If you use this program in academic work, please cite: M. Souilah, A. Boulle, A. Debelle, “RaDMaX: a graphical program for the determination of strain and damage profiles in irradiated crystals”, J. Appl.Cryst. 49, 311-316 (2016). Link to article.

What’s new

November 2019:

• RaDMaX is now available as web application. No more installation required. Visit RaDMaX online for more details.

2018:

• Full Python 3 compatibility

June 2017:

• Works now with matplotlib 2.0.0 and higher (and also with previous 1.5 version)
• For expert users, RaDMaX is also working with python 3 and wxPython Phoenix (alpha version 4.0.0a#)
• Bugs and errors corrections

October 2016:

• XRD profile function is now available
• new features or improvements:
  • update project by hitting enter or left-click outside the editable cell
  • manual export strain and DW profiles and XRD simulation (no fit required)
  • GSA current cycle is now indicated
  • standard time to localtime in database
• Bugs and errors corrections

July 2016:

• irradiated films are now supported. The option can be selected from the “Sample Geometry” tab. In case where the film thickness is larger than the film thickness, the latter should be provided by the user in the corresponding field. When relevant, the substrate characteristics should be provided (structure factor, lattice parameters and Miller indices).
• for all strain/DW models, selected fitting parameters can now be held fixed during the fitting procedure.
• all fitting results are stored in an internal database accessible thourgh the “Database” tab. Previous fitting results can be restored from this database.

April 2016:

• version 2.0. IMPORTANT: if you encounter an error upon opening an former project or creating a new one, delete the Radmax.ini file in the Radmax folder.
• a new strain/DW model has been added to simulate high-velocity ion irradiation, where a narrow damage peak is formed deep below the surface. It is based on an asymmetric pseudo-Voigt function to model the damage peak + a constant on the left-side of the peak to simulate the region of constant damage. The control points allow to modify the magnitude and location of strain/DW peak, its width (left /right side independently), and the magnitude of the constant strain/DW region. The left/right shape factors of the pseudo-Voigt are accessible through the “eta” fields.
• the least-square fitting algorithm now uses LmFit if it is installed on your computer (recommended). Among other features, LmFit allows to set limits on the fitting parameters. Otherwise, SciPy’s leastsq algorithm is used.
• the fitting options (GSA and least-squares) and parameter limits are now accessible through the “Fit” menu.

Installation instructions

Download zip file and extract it to your disk.

RaDMaX requires python 2.7, SciPy, Matplotlib and wxPython. For the moment, the wxpython library is not compatible with Python 3 and above. RaDMaX won’t work with Python 3. Instructions for Windows and GNU/Linux are given below.

MS Windows

1. For most users, especially on Windows and Mac, the easiest way to install scientific Python is to download one of these Python distributions, which includes most of the key packages:

• Anaconda (recommended): A free distribution for the SciPy stack. Supports Linux, Windows and Mac. Download.
• Python(x,y) (not tested): A free distribution including the SciPy stack, based around the Spyder IDE. Windows only. Download.
• WinPython (not tested): A free distribution including the SciPy stack. Windows only. [Download.] (http://sourceforge.net/projects/winpython/files/WinPython_2.7/2.7.9.5/WinPython-32bit-2.7.9.5.exe/download)

1. Download and install [wxPython] (http://downloads.sourceforge.net/wxpython/wxPython3.0-win32-3.0.2.0-py27.exe)
2. Finally execute the “Radmax.py” file. Alternatively, open a terminal (press “windows” and “r”, type “cmd” [without commas] and press “Enter”). Navigate to the “Radmax” folder and type python Radmax.py. The first execution of the program may take some time.

GNU / Linux

1. On most Linux systems the dependencies are available in the software repositories. For debian based systems run (as root): apt-get install python python-scipy python-matplolib python-wxgtk3.0.
2. In a terminal, run the Radmax.py file with python Radmax.py.

For other distributions please visit the [python 2.7] (http://www.python.org), SciPy, Matplotlib and [wxPython] (http://www.wxpython.org) websites.

Mac OSX

1. Mac OS does not come with a package manager. You can use a third party package manager like Macports to install SciPy and Matplotlib. Run (as root): port install py27-numpy py27-scipy py27-matplotlib py27-ipython +notebook py27-pandas py27-sympy py27-nose.
2. Download and install the Mac OSX Binaries wxPython, choose the install that fits your system, if OSX < 10.5, wxPython or OSX > 10.5 wxPython
3. In a terminal, run the Radmax.py file with python Radmax.py.

Development environment

The RaDMaX program has been developed on MS Windows using python 2.7.11, Matplotlib 1.5.1 and WxPython 3.0.2.0. It has been tested on several GNU/Linux distributions including Debian 8 and Kubuntu 15.04, using python 2.7.9, Matplotlib 1.4.2 and WxPython 3.0.1.1. It also has been tested on a MacMini running OSX Yosemite 10.10.5 with python 2.7.11, Matplotlib 1.5.1 and WxPython 3.0.2.0.

Quick test of the program

1. In a text editor open the “test.ini” file located in the “examples/YSZ” or “examples/SiC-3C” folder. Modify lines 5-7: insert the paths of the files on your system. For instance, for a Radmax file located in the “documents” folder:

   • Windows: C:\Users\User_name\Documents\
   • Linux: /home/user_name/Documents/
2. Launch Radmax.py.
3. In the “File” menu select “Load Project”.
4. Navigate to the “examples/YSZ” or “examples/SiC-3C” folder and load the “test.ini” file.

• Any change in any of the upper panels has to be validated with the “Update” button to update the XRD curve.
• The strain and damage profiles can be modified by dragging the control points. The XRD curve is updated in real time.
• The strain and damage profile can be scaled up or down with the mouse wheel + pressing the “u” key. The XRD curve is updated when the “u” key is released.
• Calculated XRD curves can be fitted to experimental data in the “Fitting window” tab.
• Conventional least-squares (recommended) or generalized simulated annealing algorithm can be used.
• The fitted curve, the strain and damage profiles are automatically saved (*.txt) in the folder selected above.

Data format

XRD data can be loaded from the “File” menu. The data should be provided as a two-columns (2thêta, intensity) ASCII file in space- (or tab-) separated format. The 2thêta values have to be equally spaced (constant step). For the moment RaDMaX can only handle data recorded in symmetric coplanar geometry (conventional thêta-2thêta scan), as this is the most commonly used geometry in the analysis of irradiated materials.

Guess strain/damage profile can be imported from the “File” menu. The data should be providedas a two-columns ASCII file with the depth below the surface (in Angstroms) as first column.

Screenshots

RaDMaX running in Windows 7

Screencast