Local structure

These small defects and impurities cannot be seen by methods such as X-ray diffraction or neutron diffraction, because these methods average in their nature of measurement over a large number of atoms and thus are insensitive to effects in local structure.

Methods in nuclear spectroscopy use specific nuclei as probe.

It experiences the electric fields created by the atom's electrons that surround the nucleus.

The nucleus therefore becomes very sensitive to small changes in its hyperfine structure, which can be measured by methods of nuclear spectroscopy, such as e.g. nuclear magnetic resonance, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and perturbed angular correlation.

Research of the local structure of materials has become an important tool for the understanding of properties especially in functional materials, such as used in electronics, chips, batteries, semiconductors, or solar cells.