Understanding interfacial phenomena at the atomic and nanoscale is key to the development of many new thin film technologies in diverse fields ranging from semiconductor design, lubrication and catalysis through to tissue engineering.

Surface X-ray scattering is particularly well suited to:

• solid-liquid, air-liquid and liquid-liquid interfaces (friction, lubrication and wear)
• molecular adsorption and self-assembly (preferential and selective surface adsorption)
• structure of solid surfaces (including multilayered materials and buried solid-solid interfaces)
• soft matter and biology (paints, coatings, cosmetics and drug delivery)

The experimental techniques of X-ray Reflectivity (XRR), Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXD) and Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering (GI-SAXS) allow investigation of the structure of surfaces, interfaces and layered materials under controlled environmental conditions including harsh and real-world environments. These techniques probe:

• layer thickness (XRR)
• layer roughness (XRR)
• number of layers (XRR)
• layer structure (GIXD and GI-SAXS)

Service options

We offer a range of service options for surface X-ray scattering including:

• mail in data collection and analysis
• scientific and technical support and training during experiments
• collaboration on design of sample environment equipment to allow in situ experiments.

Case Studies

Shining a light on new solar cell materials (University of Sheffield)	Understanding structure in thin film organic semiconductors (University of Bristol)