Description of the method
In grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GI-XRD), GI-XRD), an X-ray beam is directed at a sample at a very small angle of incidence, typically less than one degree, causing the X-rays to interact only with the top few nanometres of the material. This results in a diffraction pattern that is highly sensitive to the crystallographic properties of the surface region.
Examples of applications
- Used for phase identification and quantification of polycrystalline materials
- Residual stress measurements in thin films and surfaces
- GI-XRD is suitable for all polycrystalline materials where the focus is on the surface layers. It is also useful for thin films where scattering from the substrate may mask or dominate the relatively weak scattering from a thin film.