Everything SAXS: Small-angle scattering pattern collection and correction

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of data collection and correction techniques in Small-Angle Scattering (SAS), emphasizing the importance of data quality and error estimation for reliable nanostructural analysis.

Contribution

It systematically reviews all data correction steps in SAS, offering mathematical descriptions and error propagation methods to improve data reliability.

Findings

Detailed correction procedures for SAS data

Mathematical frameworks for correction and error estimation

Guidelines for high-quality nanostructural data analysis

Abstract

For obtaining reliable nanostructural details of large amounts of sample --- and if it is applicable --- Small-Angle Scattering (SAS) is a prime technique to use. It promises to obtain bulk-scale, statistically sound information on the morphological details of the nanostructure, and has thus led to many a researcher investing their time in it over the last eight decades of development. Due to pressure both from scientists requesting more details on increasingly complex nanostructures, as well as the ever improving instrumentation leaving less margin for ambiguity, small-angle scattering methodologies have been evolving at a high pace over the last few decades. As the quality of any results can only be as good as the data that goes into these methodologies, the improvements in data collection and all imaginable data correction steps are reviewed here. This work is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of all data corrections, to aid the small-angle scatterer to decide which are relevant for their measurement and how these corrections are performed. Clear mathematical descriptions of the corrections are provided where feasible. Furthermore, as no quality data exists without a decent estimate of its precision, the error estimation and propagation through all these steps is provided alongside the corrections. With these data corrections, the collected small-angle scattering pattern can be made of the highest standard allowing for authoritative nanostructural characterisation through its analysis. A brief background of small-angle scattering, the instrumentation developments over the years, and pitfalls that may be encountered upon data interpretations are provided as well.