Reflection
The basic idea is to reflect a beam of X-rays from a surface and to measure the intensity of X-rays reflected in the specular direction (reflected angle equal to incident angle). It has been shown that a reflection off a parabolic mirror followed by a reflection off a hyperbolic mirror can lead to the focusing of X-rays.
The ratio of reflected intensity to incident intensity is the X-ray reflectivity for the surface. If the interface is not perfectly sharp and smooth, the reflected intensity will deviate from that predicted by the law of Fresnel reflectivity. The deviations can then be analyzed to obtain the density profile of the interface normal to the surface. For films with multiple layers, X-ray reflectivity may show oscillations with wavelength, analogous to the Fabry-Pérot effect. These oscillations can be used to infer layer thicknesses and other properties.
Read more about this topic: X-ray Optics
Famous quotes containing the word reflection:
“Water. Its sunny track in the plain; its splashing in the garden canal, the sound it makes when in its course it meets the mane of the grass; the diluted reflection of the sky together with the fleeting sight of the reeds; the Negresses fill their dripping gourds and their red clay containers; the song of the washerwomen; the gorged fields the tall crops ripening.”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)
“Men should pledge themselves to nothing; for reflection makes a liar of their resolution.”
—Sophocles (497–406/5 B.C.)
“But before the extremity of the Cape had completely sunk, it appeared like a filmy sliver of land lying flat on the ocean, and later still a mere reflection of a sand-bar on the haze above. Its name suggests a homely truth, but it would be more poetic if it described the impression which it makes on the beholder.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)