A state-of-the-art multilayer deposition system has been developed at Diamond Light Source; this instrument is engineered to produce single and multilayer coatings, accommodating mirrors up to 2000 mm in length through the utilization of eight rectangular cathodes.

A high-flux sub-micrometre focusing system for 100 keV X-rays using multilayer focusing mirrors was constructed and evaluated at the undulator beamline BL05XU of SPring-8.

The objective of this article is to develop and apply a model for the design and evaluation of X-ray diffraction experiments to measure phase-specific residual stress profiles in multilayer systems.

This study addresses the ambiguity related to the phase problem as a primary obstacle in machine-learning-based approaches for extracting information from X-ray reflectivity and neutron reflectivity data. The proposed solution is a procedure that enables training of a neural network on a continuous range of smaller subspaces of a large parameter space.

X-ray standing waves on a thermally stable periodic multilayer have been used to evidence the partial coverage of Co nanoparticles by a titanium oxide support in a model catalyst, following high-temperature reduction. The developed approach has potential for fundamental studies in thermally activated surface processes in catalysis, membranes and metallurgy.

A real-time synchrotron radiation study of the crystalline phase, texture formation and resulting surface roughness during deposition of thin La and LaN films is presented. For LaN, the theoretically predicted metastable wurtzite and zincblende structures were found, while La assumes the expected NaCl structure.

The effect of nitro­gen partial pressure on an Ni/Ti neutron supermirror prepared by magnetron sputtering was investigated, revealing that the crystallization and interface performance on Ni/Ti thin films can be regulated by changing the nitro­gen content of the sputtering gas.

The surface figure of an X-ray mirror was corrected by differential deposition and measured by off-line metrology.

Sub-micron a-ZnO epilayers (12 to 770 nm) grown on r-sapphire by MOCVD have been analysed using SEM, HRXRD, UPS, XPS and HRTEM. The distortion of the unit cell has been determined and the consequent strain shows a transition from an inelastic to an elastic state, separated by a critical thickness; a method to experimentally determine this critical thickness is given.

Multifitting, a computer program designed specifically for modeling the optical properties of multilayer films over a wide range of wavelengths, is described. The key features of Multifitting are the ability to work simultaneously with an arbitrary number of experimental curves and an ergonomic graphical user interface that is designed for intensive daily use in the diagnosis of thin films.