PROFIT computer program for processing powder diffraction data on an IBM PC with a graphic user interface

The PROFIT computer program for processing powder diffraction data on an IBM PC compatible computers is described. The program allows the resolution of multiplets consisting of up to 20 overlapping reflections, each of them possibly being a doublet, The diffraction pattern (or any part of it) containing up to 10000 experimental points can be analyzed. The line profiles are approximated by the asymmetric Pearson or pseuda-Voigt functions, as well as by an asymmetric pseudo-Voigt function with independent parameters of the Gauss and Lorentz components (the latter allows one to study samples with nonunimodal distributions of crystallite dimensions). The program provides possibilities for imposing various constraints on the parameters of individual reflections and separating the peaks into several groups, which is important for analyzing the diffraction patterns from multicomponent systems. The newly developed user interface is completely graphic and allows processing of all the data on one screen.