A laboratory use image plate camera for surface and interface structure analysis

We designed a new X-ray camera with an image plate (IP) detector so as to study surface and interface structures. It is made up of two goniometers with coaxial setup and a curved IP cassette that traverses up and down. The axis of rotation is vertical and perpendicular to the incident beam. The sample is mounted on one of the goniometer. The other goniometer carries an arm. This arm is intended to hold a hemicylindrical metal sleeve with a narrow slot or with crossed slits. Owing to the slit screen, of which rotation can be synchronized with the sample rotation and the IP translation, the background was reduced by half. Consequently, we could detect X-ray surface scattering of the order of 10−6. On the other hand, if the slit screen is held stationary, an easy measurement of diffuse X-ray reflectivity was found to be possible by combining the IP translation and the sample rotation. Since the goniometer and goniometer head are intended for experimental setup of heavy and large devices, vacuum chambers or cryostats can easily be installed. Therefore, the IP camera enables to measure the diffraction from surfaces under various extreme conditions.