Characterization of Materials Surface by X-Ray Reflectivity Measurements

Abstract

The mechanical or physical properties of surface determine a certain behaviour of material in various working conditions. For example, the roughness of surface influences the value of friction coefficient. X-ray reflectivity is a powerful tool to measure some parameters of surface, such as: sample size, density, flatness, porosity, roughness, interface quality, layer thickness etc. The paper reviews the main results obtained in field and recommend this technique in order to establish certain mechanical or physical characteristics of materials surface.