BINoculars: data reduction and analysis software for two-dimensional detectors in surface X-ray diffraction

BINoculars is a tool for data reduction and analysis of large sets of surface diffraction data that have been acquired with a two-dimensional X-ray detector. The intensity of each pixel of a two-dimensional detector is projected onto a three-dimensional grid in reciprocal-lattice coordinates using a binning algorithm. This allows for fast acquisition and processing of high-resolution data sets and results in a significant reduction of the size of the data set. The subsequent analysis then proceeds in reciprocal space. It has evolved from the specific needs of the ID03 beamline at the ESRF, but it has a modular design and can be easily adjusted and extended to work with data from other beamlines or from other measurement techniques. This paper covers the design and the underlying methods employed in this software package and explains how BINoculars can be used to improve the workflow of surface X-ray diffraction measurements and analysis.