New apparatus for grazing X-ray reflectometry in the angle-resolved dispersive mode

A new apparatus is proposed for grazing X-ray measurements of thin films on flat substrates. The multiple-beam interferences of parallel layers and/or the Bragg peaks of multilayers are measured in the angular dispersive mode with a position-sensitive proportional counter. Measurements of thickness, densities and periodicities are easy to carry out on small sample areas in a much shorter time than with a classical goniometric recording. The principle, the design features and the resolution are described. Different examples showing the performance of the set-up are given.