The Powder Diffraction File (PDF) has always been a material identification database since the early work of Hanawalt,Rinn and Frevel in 1938 in identification methods,and the subsequent publication of the database starting in 1941.Over the years,the global membership of the ICDD,most of whom work in materials analysis laboratories,have shaped the database to meet their needs.This involves material identification integrated with advanced characterization tools and structural interpretations.