The nanostructure of thin films and surfaces can be analyzed by means of an x-ray beam that falls at a very small angle (hardly touches, not more than 5 ° (2θ)). This method is known as Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), and it is an ideal complement to the microscopy method, because the microscopy methods provide local information about the object, while the GISAXS method gives the integral characteristic of the sample. This method combines small-angle X-ray scattering and diffuse X-ray reflection. The article contains information how to carry out standard experiment and about the spectrum, as well as information about other "related" methods, such as the method of Grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and Grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD)
Application: to describe mesopores in thin films, nanoparticles deposited on the surface, metal nanoparticles on the surface of oxides, and more recently for studying soft matter - polymer / block copolymer thin films, biological materials that are attached to surfaces.