A recently developed experimental-analytical x-ray diffraction method for t
he direct, nondestructive characterization of crystalline materials is appl
ied to analyze high-resolution x-ray refraction data from amorphous materia
ls. The method uses a logarithmic dispersion relation to determine the x-ra
y phase. A priori knowledge of the sample structure is utilized to reconstr
uct the physical characteristics of the sample with a resolution of 0.25 mu
m. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.