Aspects of surface and interface characterizations by x-rays : the research programme at IOP, Bhubaneswar

Surface and interface studies constitute an important experimental research programme of the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar since 1991. In recent years, experimental techniques like high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD), x-ray reflectometry (XRR) and x-ray standing wave (XSW) have been set up around an 18 kW rotating anode x-ray generator and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and channeling have been set up around a 3 million volt tandem Van de Graaff ion accelerator (Pelletron). Besides the in-house facilities we also use facilities available elsewhere to study complementary aspects of specific research problems. The research programme mainly involves studies of surface modifications in ion-solid interaction, growth of epitaxial layers on surfaces, strain and defects in epilayers, interface atomic structure and adsorption/desorption on single crystal surfaces. In this article we present some examples of surface and interface characterizations with x-rays. (author)