In-plane diffraction
An X-ray diffraction technique in which both the incident and diffracted beams are nearly parallel to the sample surface, in-plane diffraction is an important method for thin film characterization. With standard diffraction geometries, such as the Bragg-Brentano geometry, lattice planes are measured that are parallel to the sample surface. X-rays penetrate to a certain depth into the sample, where they are diffracted; however, if the sample layer is too thin, X-rays are completely transmitted by the sample and no diffraction is observed. In these circumstances, in-plane diffraction is used. In-plane diffraction has two major features:
- The penetration depth of the beam is limited to within about 100 nm of the surface
- The technique measures lattice planes that are (nearly) perpendicular to the sample surface, which are inaccessible by other techniques
Systems
- Automated in-plane XRD: SmartLab®
- High-performance in-plane XRD: Ultima IV
- 18 kW θ/θ XRD system: TTRAX