Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 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
Effect of the surface roughness on X-ray absorption by mirrors operating at extremely small grazing angles
Abstract:
This study theoretically analyzes an increase in X-ray absorption by a grazing incidence mirror due to its surface roughness. We demonstrate that the increase in absorption can be several hundred times larger than predicted by the Nevot-Croce formula. As a result, absorption enhances by several times compared to a perfectly smooth mirror despite the extremely small grazing angle of an incident X-ray beam (a fraction of the critical angle of the total external reflection) and the high quality of the reflecting surface (the roughness height was 0.5 nm in modeling). The main contribution to the absorption increase was dictated by the mid-scale roughness (waviness) of the virgin substrate surface, whose quality thus defines an absorption enhancement. The approach was applied to the analysis of two real mirrors used in a synchrotron (BESSY-I) and a European X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) beamline. The modern surface finishing technology of elastic emission machining provides extremely low substrate waviness, guaranteeing the negligible effect of the surface roughness on the absorption increase.
More Related Videos
06:12Plasma Polishing as a New Polishing Option to Reduce the Surface Roughness of Porous Titanium Alloy for 3D Printing
Published on: April 28, 2023
07:55Elemental-sensitive Detection of the Chemistry in Batteries through Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering
Published on: April 17, 2018
Related Concept Videos
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Contact Angle
The adhesive force is the molecular force between molecules of different materials, that is, between the molecules of the solid and the liquid. The cohesive...
Directing Proteins to the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
Drug Absorption: Factors Affecting GI Absorption
Absolute and Local Extreme Values
Open Angle Glaucoma: Treatment
Drugs such as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, α2- and...