Resonance-enhanced grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering of nanostructures at surfaces and buried in thin films.
- X-Ray Science Division
X-ray standing waves generated by the interference of the scattered x rays from parallel surfaces of a thin film, the so-called waveguide effect, can be used to enhance or reduce the scatterings from certain depths of the film. Used in combination with grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering, this resonance effect provides depth sensitivity to extract buried structures in thin films of polymer and polymer/nanoparticle nanocomposite, which are not readily accessible by most surface techniques, such as scanning probe microscopy. We developed a rigorous theory of the diffuse scattering in the framework of the distorted-wave Born approximation using a discretization method analogous to Parratt's recursive formalism. In such a case, the distortion of the electric field of the unperturbed state from the nanostructures of interest is considered in a self-consistent manner. This theory allows a quantitative determination of the buried nanostructures when the x-ray waveguide enhancement is present or the size of the nanostructures of interest is comparable to or larger than the spatial frequency of electric-field intensity modulation. A unique capability afforded by this theory is that a nanometer or even subnanometer spatial resolution can be achieved in the depth information of the buried nanostructures, along with the in-plane correlation of the structures.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1043147
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/XSD/JA-66426; TRN: US1203010
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 84, Issue 7; ISSN 1098-0121
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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