Fast, micrometer scale characterization of group-III nitrides with laboratory X-ray diffraction

We have designed a convergent beam, concurrent detection X-ray diffractometer. The instrument was built by Bruker AXS and is equipped with a rotating anode generator, a Johannson monochromator crystal for beam focusing, and a Soller slit arrangement in combination with a knife edge in front of the sample which defines the illuminated area on the sample. Samples up to 12 in. can be mounted on the sample stage of a D8 Eulerian cradle. A large area detector enables rapid simultaneous detection of the diffracted intensity. The instruments allow for a fast evaluation of large samples at high lateral resolution. In favourable cases lateral resolution down to 1 μm is possible. Furthermore a grazing incidence diffractometer has been developed which allows for depth-dependent measurements at high intensity.