# Absorption Correction for Reliable Pair Distribution Functions from Low Energy X‑ray Sources

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new absorption correction model to improve the reliability of pair distribution functions from low-energy X-ray experiments.

## Contribution

A novel absorption correction model and user-friendly software for efficient processing of X-ray diffraction data.

## Key findings

- The most appropriate μR values for correction were identified for different capillary diameters and X-ray beam sizes.
- Operational ranges of μR with a reasonable signal-to-noise ratio after correction were determined.
- A software package, diffpy.labpdfproc, was developed for rapid absorption correction and μR estimation.

## Abstract

This paper explores
the development and testing of a simple absorption
correction model for processing powder X-ray diffraction data from
Debye–Scherrer geometry laboratory X-ray experiments. This
may be used as a preprocessing step before using PDFgetX3 to obtain reliable pair distribution functions (PDFs). Various experimental
and theoretical methods for estimating μR were
explored, and the most appropriate μR values
for correction were identified for different capillary diameters and
X-ray beam sizes. We identify operational ranges of μR where a reasonable signal-to-noise ratio is possible after
correction. A user-friendly software package, diffpy.labpdfproc, is presented that can help estimate μR and
perform absorption corrections with a rapid calculation for efficient
processing.