Introduction to Advanced X-ray Diffraction Techniques for Polymeric Thin Films

X-ray diffraction has been a standard technique for investigating structural properties of materials. However, most common applications in the organic materials community have been restricted to either chemical identification or qualitative strain analysis. Moreover, its use for polymeric thin films has been challenging because of the low structure factor of carbon and the thin film nature of the sample. Here, we provide a short review of advanced X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques suitable for polymeric thin films, including the type of analysis that can be done and measurement geometries that would compensate low signals due to low carbon structure factor and the thin film nature of the sample. We will also briefly cover the χ-pole figure for texture analysis of ultra-thin film that has recently become commonly used. A brief review of XRD theory is also presented.