Grazing-Incidence X-ray Scattering at High Energies: Advanced Capabilities at the 11-ID Beamlines of the APS-U

TL;DR

High-energy grazing-incidence x-ray scattering at the APS-U enables detailed structural analysis of thin films and interfaces with improved speed and sensitivity.

Contribution

APS-U's enhanced brilliance enables new functionalities like inverse depth profiling and fast in-situ experiments at high energies.

Findings

High-energy grazing-incidence x-ray scattering provides orientational resolved local structure in amorphous films.

Inverse depth profiling and improved q space accessibility are now possible at high energies.

Millisecond time resolution allows studying fast processes during film growth and variable-temperature experiments.

Abstract

Grazing-incidence x-ray scattering at high energies (60-130 keV) has recently been realized for structural characterization of thin films, with the 11-ID beamlines at the APS showcasing some of the first experiments. Now, the enhanced brilliance of the APS-U allows for faster collection times and greater sensitivity to fully utilize the particular capabilities of grazing-incidence x-ray scattering exclusively available at high energies. Specifically, collection of total x-ray scattering data for pair distribution function analysis allows for determination of local structure in amorphous and disorder films, including orientational resolved local structure. Additional functionalities not available at lower energies will be demonstrated including “inverse” depth profiling to characterize buried interfaces and increased accessibility of the q space near the vertical qz axis. Capabilities for in-situ and operando experiments such as variable-temperature experiments and measurements during film growth will be discussed as well. These experiments will benefit from the increased flux of the APS-U by allowing for time resolution on the order of milliseconds to study fast processes. Overall, it is expected that grazing-incidence x-ray scattering at high energies will be applicable to a wide variety of fields and sample environments.