BCA Spring Meeting 2002 University of Nottingham Monday 25 March to Thursday 28 March 2002

The tutorial is designed to give a basic introduction to the analysis of thin films. This method is often referred to as "Glancing Incidence X-Ray Analysis (GIXA)" or "Reflectometry". It is used to determine the thickness, roughness, density, etc. of layers, which are less than (about) a micron in thickness. Typical examples are layers deposited to form electronic devices and also optical coatings on glass.

The tutorial will be divided into three sessions: Firstly, Paul Fewster, (Philips), will introduce some of the physics behind reflectometry. Next, the practical aspects of aligning the sample, collecting and analysing the data will be discussed by Christoph Schug (IBM SSD Mainz, Germany). Finally, we will describe some practical examples.

This workshop is designed for the beginner as well as those who have some experience of the technique. There will be time to ask questions and to discuss any problems which you have encountered.

The Physical Crystallography Group have a session on "Thin Film Analysis" on Wednesday morning, when you will be able to test your new skills.

For further information, please contact: Judith Shackleton ([email protected]) at the Manchester Materials Science Centre (tel. 0161 200 3581).