Reflected X-rays

A similar effect occurs in highly chiral nematic Hquid crystals. In a narrow temperature range (seldom wider than 1°C) between the chiral nematic phase and the isotropic Hquid phase, up to three phases are stable in which a cubic lattice of defects (where the director is not defined) exist in a compHcated, orientationaHy ordered twisted stmcture (11). Again, the introduction of these defects allows the bulk of the Hquid crystal to adopt a chiral stmcture which is energetically more favorable than both the chiral nematic and isotropic phases. The distance between defects is hundreds of nanometers, so these phases reflect light just as crystals reflect x-rays. They are called the blue phases because the first phases of this type observed reflected light in the blue part of the spectmm. The arrangement of defects possesses body-centered cubic symmetry for one blue phase, simple cubic symmetry for another blue phase, and seems to be amorphous for a third blue phase. 

THE POTENTIAL OF TOTAL REFLECTION X-RAY SPECTROMETRY FOR STUDY OF THE BLOOD SERUM... 

In Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (TXRF), the sutface of a solid specimen is exposed to an X-ray beam in grazing geometry. The angle of incidence is kept below the critical angle for total reflection, which is determined by the electron density in the specimen surface layer, and is on the order of mrad. With total reflection, only a few nm of the surface layer are penetrated by the X rays, and the surface is excited to emit characteristic X-ray fluorescence radiation. The energy spectrum recorded by the detector contains quantitative information about the elemental composition and, especially, the trace impurity content of the surface, e.g., semiconductor wafers. TXRF requires a specular surface of the specimen with regard to the primary X-ray light. 

Three techniques involving the use of X-ray emission to obtain quantitative elemental analysis of materials are described in this chapter. They are X-Ray Fluorescence, XRF, Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence, TXRF, and Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission, PIXE. XRF and TXRF use laboratory X-ray tubes to excite the emission. PIXE uses high-energy ions from a particle accelerator. 

XRF is closely related to the EPMA, energy-dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and total reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TRXF), which are described elsewhere in this encyclopedia. Brief comparisons between XRF and each of these three techniques are given below. 

Fig. 4.1. Interference of incoming and the reflected X-ray waves inthe triangular region above a flat and thick reflecting substrate. The strength ofthe electromagnetic field is represented on the gray scale by instantaneous crests (white) andtroughs (black). Inthe course of time, the pattern moves from the left to the right [4.21].

R. Klockenkamper Total Reflection X-ray Analysis, Wiley Interscience 1997. 

Vol. 140. Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis. By Reinhold Klockenkamper... 

In recent years, high-resolution x-ray diffraction has become a powerful method for studying layered strnctnres, films, interfaces, and surfaces. X-ray reflectivity involves the measurement of the angnlar dependence of the intensity of the x-ray beam reflected by planar interfaces. If there are multiple interfaces, interference between the reflected x-rays at the interfaces prodnces a series of minima and maxima, which allow determination of the thickness of the film. More detailed information about the film can be obtained by fitting the reflectivity curve to a model of the electron density profile. Usually, x-ray reflectivity scans are performed with a synchrotron light source. As with ellipsometry, x-ray reflectivity provides good vertical resolution [14,20] but poor lateral resolution, which is limited by the size of the probing beam, usually several tens of micrometers. 

When a diffracted X-ray beam hits a data collection device, only the intensity of the reflection is recorded. The other vital piece of information is the phase of the reflected X-ray beam. It is the combination of the intensity and the phase of the reflections that is needed to unravel the contributions made to the diffraction by the electrons in different parts of the molecule in the crystal. This so-called phase problem has been a challenge for theoretical crystallographers for many decades. For practical crystallography, there are four main methods for phasing the data generated from a particular crystal. 

Method abbreviations D-AT-FAAS (derivative flame AAS with atom trapping), ETAAS (electrothermal AAS), GC (gas chromatography), HGAAS (hydride generation AAS), HR-ICP-MS (high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry), ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry), ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry), TXRF (total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry), Q-ICP-MS (quadrapole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry)... 

XiE M, Von Bohlen A, Klockenkamper R, Jian X, Gunther K (1998) Multielement analysis of Chinese tea (Camellia sinensis) by total reflection X-ray fluorescence. Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 207A 3i-38. 

Kelko-Levai, A., Varga, I., Zih-Perenyi, K., and Lasztity, A., Determination of trace elements in pharmaceutical substances by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and total reflection X-ray fluorescence after flow injection ion-exchange preconcentration, Spectrochim. Acta Pt. B, 54, 827, 1999. 

Figure 38. Experimental setup for back-reflection X-ray standing wave...

Figure 2.81 (a) Schematic of the system for in situ X-ray reflectivity measurements. Syn = synchrotron source M = monochromator S = slit /0, /R = incident and reflected X-rays beams, respectively 9 = angle of incidence W = teflon windows WE = working electrode RE = reference electrode CF = counter electrode D = scintillation detector, (h) Cyclic voltammogram of Cu-on-Si electrode in borate buffer solution (pH 8.4), scan rate = lOmVs-1. From Melendres... 

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