Novel X-ray diffraction microscopy technique for measuring textured grains of thin-films

We introduce a new X-ray diffraction microscopy technique capable of coupling grain orientation with its spatial location in textured thin-films. The principle is based on the combination of X-ray topography with diffractometry. High-resolution X-ray diffractometry using a scintillation detector is utilized to measure orientational distribution of individual grains. Then X-ray topography using CCD system is applied to determine the spatial locations of the angularly resolved grains. The successful application is demonstrated for grain-on-grain epitaxial alignment between the film and the substrate in Y2O3/Ni. The feasibility and the limitations of the technique are discussed.