title: A spin-echo resolved grazing incidence scattering setup for the neutron interrogation of buried nanostructures.
abstract: We present a dedicated experimental spin-echo resolved grazing incidence scattering (SERGIS) setup for the investigation of surfaces and thin films exhibiting large lateral length scales. This technique uses the neutron spin to encode one in-plane component of the wave-vector transfer in a grazing angle scattering experiment. Instead of the scattering angle, the depolarization of the scattered beam is measured. This allows one to achieve a very high in-plane momentum resolution without collimation of the incident neutron beam in the corresponding direction. SERGIS can therefore offer an alternative or complementary method to conventional grazing incidence neutron scattering experiments. We describe the experimental setup installed at the neutron sources ILL (Grenoble) and FRM II (Garching) and present data obtained with this setup on various samples exhibiting characteristic mesoscopic length scales in the range of several hundred nanometers. We also derive general formulas and error margins for the analysis and interpretation of SERGIS data and apply them to the cases of a one-dimensional structure and of an island morphology.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, Heisenbergstr. 3, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Major
authors.forename: Alexei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vorobiev
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rühm
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: Márton
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Major
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mezger
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nülle
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dosch
authors.forename: Gian P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Felcher
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Falus
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pynn