View source for Physics:X-ray standing waves

The '''[[Physics:X-ray|X-ray]] standing wave''' (XSW) technique can be used to study the structure of surfaces and interfaces with high spatial resolution and chemical selectivity. Pioneered by B.W. Batterman in the 1960s,<ref name="batterman_1964">{{cite journal|author=B. W. Batterman and H. Cole|title=Dynamical Diffraction of X Rays by Perfect Crystals|journal=Reviews of Modern Physics|volume=36|issue=3|year=1964|page=681|doi=10.1103/RevModPhys.36.681}}</ref> the availability of synchrotron light has stimulated the application of this [[Astronomy:Interferometry|interferometric technique]] to a wide range of problems in surface science.<ref name="zegenhagen_1993">{{cite journal|author=J. Zegenhagen|title=Surface structure determination with X-ray standing waves|journal=Surface Science Reports|volume=18|issue=7/8|year=1993|pages=202–271|doi=10.1016/0167-5729(93)90025-K}}</ref><ref name="woodruff_2005">{{cite journal|author=D. P. Woodruff|title=Surface structure determination using x-ray standing waves|journal=Reports on Progress in Physics|volume=68|issue=4|year=2005|page=743|doi=10.1088/0034-4885/68/4/R01|s2cid=122085105 }}</ref>
== Basic principles ==
[[Image:Xsw principle.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Principle of X-ray standing wave measurements]]

An X-ray standing wave (XSW) field is created by interference between an X-ray beam impinging on a sample and a reflected beam. The reflection may be generated at the Bragg condition for a crystal lattice or an engineered multilayer [[Physics:Superlattice|superlattice]]; in these cases, the period of the XSW equals the periodicity of the reflecting planes. [[Physics:X-ray reflectivity|X-ray reflectivity]] from a mirror surface at small incidence angles may also be used to generate long-period XSWs.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=M.J. Bedzyk|author2=G.M. Bommarito|author3=J.S. Schildkraut|title=X-ray standing waves at a reflecting mirror surface|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=62|issue=12|pages=1376–1379|year=1989|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.62.1376|pmid=10039658}}</ref>

The spatial modulation of the XSW field, described by the dynamical theory of X-ray diffraction, undergoes a pronounced change when the sample is scanned through the Bragg condition. Due to a relative phase variation between the incoming and reflected beams, the nodal planes of the XSW field shift by half the XSW period.<ref name="als-nielsen">{{cite book|author=J. Als-Nielsen and D. McMorrow|title=Elements of Modern X-ray Physics|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.|year=2001|isbn=978-0471498582}}</ref> Depending on the position of the atoms within this wave field, the measured element-specific absorption of X-rays varies in a characteristic way. Therefore, measurement of the absorption (via [[Physics:X-ray fluorescence|X-ray fluorescence]] or photoelectron yield) can reveal the position of the atoms relative to the reflecting planes. The absorbing atoms can be thought of as "detecting" the phase of the XSW; thus, this method overcomes the [[Phase problem|phase problem]] of X-ray crystallography.

For quantitative analysis, the normalized fluorescence or photoelectron yield <math>Y_p</math> is described by <ref name="zegenhagen_1993" /><ref name="woodruff_2005" />

<div class="center">
<math>Y_{p}(\Omega) = 1 + R + 2C \sqrt{R} f_H \cos (\nu - 2\pi P_H )</math>,
</div>

where <math>R</math> is the reflectivity and <math>\nu</math> is the relative phase of the interfering beams. The characteristic shape of <math>Y_p</math> can be used to derive precise structural information about the surface atoms because the two parameters <math>f_H</math> (coherent fraction) and <math>P_H</math> (coherent position) are directly related to the [[Fourier series|Fourier representation]] of the atomic distribution function. Therefore, with a sufficiently large number of Fourier components being measured, XSW data can be used to establish the distribution of the different atoms in the unit cell (XSW imaging).<ref>{{cite journal|author=L. Cheng, P. Fenter, M. J. Bedzyk, and N. J. Sturchio|title=Fourier-Expansion Solution of Atom Distributions in a Crystal Using X-Ray Standing Waves|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=90|issue=25|year=2003|page=255503|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.255503|pmid=12857143}}</ref>

[[Image:xswyield.png|none|thumb|650px|Characteristic XSW yield (red lines) through the <math>\mathbf{H}=hkl</math> Bragg condition for an absorbing atom at position <math>\mathbf{H}\cdot\mathbf{r}</math>. The Bragg reflection, calculated by dynamical diffraction theory, is shown in green.]]

== Experimental considerations ==
XSW measurements of [[Earth:Single crystal|single crystal]] surfaces are performed on a [[Engineering:Diffractometer|diffractometer]]. The crystal is rocked through a Bragg diffraction condition, and the reflectivity and XSW yield are simultaneously measured. XSW yield is usually detected as [[Physics:X-ray fluorescence|X-ray fluorescence]] (XRF). XRF detection enables ''in situ'' measurements of interfaces between a surface and gas or liquid environments, since hard X-rays can penetrate these media. While XRF gives an element-specific XSW yield, it is not sensitive to the [[Chemistry:Chemical state|chemical state]] of the absorbing atom. Chemical state sensitivity is achieved using [[Physics:X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy|photoelectron]] detection, which requires [[Physics:Ultra-high vacuum|ultra-high vacuum]] instrumentation.

Measurements of atomic positions at or near single crystal surfaces require substrates of very high crystal quality. The intrinsic width of a Bragg reflection, as calculated by dynamical diffraction theory, is extremely small (on the order of 0.001° under conventional X-ray diffraction conditions). Crystal defects such as [[Physics:Mosaicity|mosaicity]] can substantially broaden the measured reflectivity, which obscures the modulations in the XSW yield needed to locate the absorbing atom. For defect-rich substrates such as metal single crystals, a normal-incidence or back-reflection geometry is used. In this geometry, the intrinsic width of the Bragg reflection is maximized. Instead of rocking the crystal in space, the energy of the incident beam is tuned through the Bragg condition. Since this geometry requires soft incident X-rays, this geometry typically uses XPS detection of the XSW yield.

== Selected applications ==
Applications which require [[Physics:Ultra-high vacuum|ultra-high vacuum]] conditions:
* [[Physics:Physisorption|Physisorption]] and [[Physics:Chemisorption|chemisorption]] studies <ref name="zegenhagen_1993" /><ref name="woodruff_2005" />
* [[Physics:Diffusion|Diffusion]] of dopants in crystals <ref>{{cite journal|author=P. Hoenicke|display-authors=0|title=Depth profile characterization of ultra shallow junction implants|journal=Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry|volume=396|issue=8|pages=2825–32|year=2010|doi=10.1007/s00216-009-3266-y|pmid=19941133|s2cid=6443446 }}</ref>
* [[Physics:Superlattice|Superlattice]]s and Quasi-crystal characterization

Applications which do not require ultra-high vacuum conditions:
* Langmuir-Blodgett films
* Self-assembled monolayers
* Model heterogeneous catalysts<ref>{{cite journal|author=Z. Feng, C.-Y. Kim, J.W. Elam, Q. Ma, Z. Zhang, M.J. Bedzyk|title=Direct Atomic-Scale Observation of Redox-Induced Cation Dynamics in an Oxide-Supported Monolayer Catalyst: WO<sub>x</sub>/α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>(0001)|journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=131|issue=51|year=2009|pages=18200–18201|doi=10.1021/ja906816y|pmid=20028144}}</ref>
* Buried interfaces

== See also ==
* List of surface analysis methods

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{cite book | first1=Jörg | last1=Zegenhagen | first2=Alexander | last2=Kazimirov | title=The X-Ray Standing Wave Technique | publisher=[[Company:World Scientific|World Scientific]] | date=2013 | isbn=978-981-2779-00-7 | doi=10.1142/6666 }}

[[Category:Experimental physics]]
[[Category:X-ray spectroscopy]]
[[Category:X-rays|Standing]]

{{Sourceattribution|X-ray standing waves}}