X-ray interference method for studying interface structures

Abstract

We describe a new method of analyzing the structure of the interface between thin films and their substrates. It is based on the interference of the diffraction of the film with the crystal truncation rods of the substrate and yields results of comparable accuracy to Rutherford-backscattering and x-ray standing-wave fluorescence methods. We demonstrate with results for Ni${\mathrm{Si}}_{2}$/Si(111).