A study of X-ray reflectivity data analysis methods for thin film thickness determination

The determination of thin film thickness by four X-ray reflectivity methods (namely, the peak separation, the Fourier transform, the modified Bragg equation, and the curve-fitting methods) has been studied. An analysis of SrS and BaF2 thin films showed thickness values determined by the methods agreed to within 4%. The curve-fitting method had the highest accuracy but was time-consuming. The peak separation, the Fourier transform, and the modified Bragg equation methods are considerably faster and, on average, gave 2.8%, 0.9%, and 0.2% larger thicknesses than those of the curve-fitting method. © 1996 International Centre for Diffraction Data.