Seminar: PIXE-Kossel: X-ray diffraction of angstrom to nm periodic structures in a routine IBA chamber

The diffraction of characteristic X-rays generated in a periodic structure (as opposed to the diffraction of X-rays generated outside of the structure) was first observed by W. Kossel in 1935, using electron excitation of a copper single crystal and registration of the diffraction patterns on a photographic plate. In 1975 Roberto et al filmed Kossel diffraction patterns from a copper crystal irradiated with positive ions, however the technique has remained largely unknown with only a dozen or so publications per year over the last three decades. With the advent of affordable X-ray color cameras, we have investigated the possibilities of using Kossel Diffraction in a standard IBA setup. After a historical review and introduction to Kossel diffraction, I will present our recent work on the application of PIXE-Kossel to studies of the interface structure of nm period multilayer stacks, and discuss some further applications of the X-ray camera in the SAFIR IBA platform.