Lecture

XRR and SAXS: Advanced Characterization

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In course

CH-633: Advanced Solid State and Surface Characterization

State-of-the-art surface/thin film characterization methods of polycrystalline/nano/amorphous materials. Selected topics from thin film X-ray diffraction (GIWAXS, GISAXS, PDF), electronic and optical spectroscopy (XPS, AES, SERS, TERS), scanning probe and ...

Description

This lecture covers X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques for analyzing crystalline and amorphous films. XRR measures interference of reflected waves to determine layer thickness, material density, and surface roughness. SAXS probes particle size, shape, and nanostructures. The instructor explains the principles, measurement setups, and applications of XRR and SAXS in characterizing materials at the nanoscale.

Instructors (3)

Mounir Driss Mensi

Teaching & PhD Courses Advanced Solid State and Surface Characterization CH-633 State-of-the-art surface/thin film characterization methods of polycrystalline/nano/amorphous materials. Selected topics from X-ray scattering (SAXS/GISAXS, PDF, GIWAXS, HRXRD), electronic and optical spectroscopy (XPS, AES, SERS, TERS), scanning probe and electron microscopy (STM, AFM, HRTEM, SEM). Characterization of Materials 2025 MSE-716 This course introduces materials characterization techni

Emad Oveisi

Dr Emad Oveisi is a senior scientist at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy (CIME), EPFL. Emad received a BSc in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering (2005) and an MSc in Materials Science (2008) both from the University of Tehran (Iran). He graduated with a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at EPFL in 2014 for a thesis on the "Three-Dimensional STEM Imaging of Dislocations" under the direction of Prof. Cécile Hébert. The PhD thesis at the Electron Spectrometry and Microscopy Laboratory (LSME), served as an introduction to many of the advanced microscopy techniques that have proven to be a platform for his research career. A post-doctoral research at the centre for electron microscopy gave him the opportunity to peruse a cutting-edge research on one of the most modern aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopes.Since the inauguration of the Energypolis campus of EPFL in Sion, he has been the manager and reference scientist of the electron microscopy platform of EPFL-Valais, working with 9 research groups and more than 200 researchers. In addition to this core responsibility, he provides advanced microscopy consulting and service to EPFL scientists and assist their research to the highest level possible. Emad Oveisi’s research focuses on the application and development of novel electron microscopy techniques, with emphasis on 3D imaging of crystal defects, as well as the precision measurement of materials properties using aberration-corrected S/TEM. In 2018, he received the prestigious Microscopy Innovation Award for inventing “Single-shot three-dimensional electron imaging”, a novel technique that enables 3D imaging of in situ dynamics. In 2016 Emad was elected as an interim representative for the scientific staff ("corps intermédiaire") to the Council of the Institute of Chemistry (ISIC). Since 2019, he is a member of EPFL Teachers’ Council (CCE) and has been elected as one of its four bureau members. This role allows him to be exposed to new ideas and pedagogical challenges, as well being involved in discussions with the Vice Presidency of Education (VPE) and other teaching organisations for defining teaching strategies at the EPFL.

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Related concepts (32)

Particle

In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. They vary greatly in size or quantity, from subatomic particles like the electron, to microscopic particles like atoms and molecules, to macroscopic particles like powders and other granular materials. Particles can also be used to create scientific models of even larger objects depending on their density, such as humans moving in a crowd or celestial bodies in motion.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology, often shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scales for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macroscale products, also now referred to as molecular nanotechnology. A more generalized description of nanotechnology was subsequently established by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which defined nanotechnology as the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm).

Point particle

A point particle (ideal particle or point-like particle, often spelled pointlike particle) is an idealization of particles heavily used in physics. Its defining feature is that it lacks spatial extension; being dimensionless, it does not take up space. A point particle is an appropriate representation of any object whenever its size, shape, and structure are irrelevant in a given context. For example, from far enough away, any finite-size object will look and behave as a point-like object.

Amorphous solid

In condensed matter physics and materials science, an amorphous solid (or non-crystalline solid) is a solid that lacks the long-range order that is characteristic of a crystal. The terms "glass" and "glassy solid" are sometimes used synonymously with amorphous solid; however, these terms refer specifically to amorphous materials that undergo a glass transition. Examples of amorphous solids include glasses, metallic glasses, and certain types of plastics and polymers. The term comes from the Greek a ("without"), and morphé ("shape, form").

Nanostructure

A nanostructure is a structure of intermediate size between microscopic and molecular structures. Nanostructural detail is microstructure at nanoscale. In describing nanostructures, it is necessary to differentiate between the number of dimensions in the volume of an object which are on the nanoscale. Nanotextured surfaces have one dimension on the nanoscale, i.e., only the thickness of the surface of an object is between 0.1 and 100 nm. Nanotubes have two dimensions on the nanoscale, i.e.

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