Structural characterization of surfaces and interfaces of materials by applying x-ray total external reflection phenomena

An in-house grazing incidence x-ray scattering (GIXS) apparatus has been newly developed for characterizing the surface structure at a microscopic level. Using this apparatus, surface diffraction profiles from the oxidized SUS304 stainless steel were measured in the vicinity of the critical angle with the GIXS geometry. The depth profite was discussed from the integrated intensities of both oxidized phase and stainless steel bulk. An in-house grazing x-ray reflection apparatus (GXR) has also been newly built for studying the liquid surface, and the liquid/solid and liquid/liquid interfaces. This system was tested by measuring x-ray reflectivity profiles from free surface of mercury and the water/mercury interface. In addition, a new method has been proposed for determining the atomic number density of a near-surface element in materials using grazing x-ray reflection and anomalous dispersion effect. The essential equations for analyzing the measured reflection data were given and the capability of this anomalous grazing x-ray reflection (AGXR) method was well-confirmed by obtaining the atomic number densities of near surface elements with some selected examples of ZrO₂-Y₂O₃ crystal and the passivated stainless steel.