XAFS and X-ray reflectivity studies of buried interfaces

Many of the properties of materials are not due to single-crystal properties, but rather the structure and behavior of internal interfaces. Unlike a free surface, however, there are few ways to nondestructively probe these "buried" interfaces. Here, results are presented on several systems, including semiconductor heterointerfaces exhibiting complex reconstruction, and internal interfaces in metals and semiconductors showing anisotropic atomic motion, In discussing these results, it is shown how X-ray Absorption Fine-structure Spectroscopy (XAFS), X-ray diffraction, and X-ray reflectivity measurements complement one another. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.