Surface X-ray Diffraction

Abstract

X-ray diffraction, which is by nature a non-destructive analysis method, has been widely used to obtain information about the interior of bulk and powder samples. Recently, a technique to control the depth of the detection area was developed. This is based on controlling the penetration depth of the X-ray from the sample surface by using a parallel beam and grazing-incident geometry, which uses a very small incident angle, allowing crystalline-quality evaluation and qualitative analysis on the sample area at the desired depth from the surface. Also developed was a derived technique, called reflectivity analysis, which provides information about the thickness, density and interface roughness of the layers in a layer-structured sample. This paper introduces the fundamentals of the measurement principles, instruments and applications of these X-ray surface measurement techniques.