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Updated: May 10, 2026

In situ Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering on Roll-To-Roll Coating of Organic Solar Cells with Laboratory X-ray Instrumentation
Published on: March 2, 2021
Optimization of the X-ray incidence angle in photoelectron spectrometers
1Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland. vladimir.strocov@psi.ch
Abstract:
The interplay between the angle-dependent X-ray reflectivity, X-ray absorption and the photoelectron attenuation length in the photoelectron emission process determines the optimal X-ray incidence angle that maximizes the photoelectron signal. Calculations in the wide VUV to the hard X-ray energy range show that the optimal angle becomes more grazing with increasing energy, from a few tens of degrees at 50 eV to about one degree at 3.5 keV. This is accompanied by an intensity gain of a few tens of times, as long as the X-ray footprint on the sample stays within the analyzer field of view. This trend is fairly material-independent. The obtained results bear immediate implications for the design of (synchrotron-based) photoelectron spectrometers.
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