Real-time observation of interface atomic structures by an energy-dispersive surface x-ray diffraction

Abstract

Surface X-ray diffraction is a powerful tool for studying the atomic structure of buried interfaces nondestructively. The analysis is often limited to the static structures, since the acquisition of crystal truncation rod (CTR) profile dataset is lengthy. Recently, high-speed methods have been developed by several groups, aiming for the in operando study of interface phenomena. Our method uses energy-dispersive convergent X-rays and area detector, and allows the quantitative structure analysis during irreversible phenomena in a typical time frame of 1 s. In this review, the energy-dispersive method is compared with the other high-speed methods which use high-energy X-rays with a grazing incidence geometry and transmission geometry, and then two examples of the real-time monitoring are presented, the photo-induced wettability transition of the rutile-TiO2(110) surface and an electrochemical reaction on the Pt(111) electrode surface, to show the capability of the energy-dispersive method.