A basic introduction to grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering

Grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) emerged to a versatile and frequently used analysis technique in the field of micro- and nanostructured thin films and surfaces. After a short introduction including some historical aspects, general principles of GISAXS are explained and illustrated with simulations of two dimensional GISAXS patterns: The scattering geometry, scattering from rough and patterned surfaces and the interplay of object form factor and interference function. Aspects of the interference function and object form factor are deepened by explaining aspects of object shape, object polydispersity and object size. Moreover, layered systems and possible simplifications are discussed. In a summary and outlook comparison between simulated GISAXS pattern and measured GISAXS data is given. A table with selected critical angles of polymers is appended.