Fast and interpretable classification of small X-ray diffraction datasets using data augmentation and deep neural networks

Abstract

X-ray diffraction (XRD) data acquisition and analysis is among the most time-consuming steps in the development cycle of novel thin-film materials. We propose a machine-learning-enabled approach to predict crystallographic dimensionality and space group from a limited number of thin-film XRD patterns. We overcome the scarce-data problem intrinsic to novel materials development by coupling a supervised machine learning approach with a model-agnostic, physics-informed data augmentation strategy using simulated data from the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) and experimental data. As a test case, 115 thin-film metal-halides spanning 3 dimensionalities and 7 space-groups are synthesized and classified. After testing various algorithms, we develop and implement an all convolutional neural network, with cross-validated accuracies for dimensionality and space-group classification of 93% and 89%, respectively. We propose average class activation maps, computed from a global average pooling layer, to allow high model interpretability by human experimentalists, elucidating the root-causes of misclassification. Finally, we systematically evaluate the maximum XRD pattern step size (data acquisition rate) before loss of predictive accuracy occurs, and determine it to be 0.16° 2θ, which enables an XRD pattern to be obtained and classified in 5.5 minutes or less.