The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Grazing-Incidence X-ray Scattering is indispensable for analyzing thin-film optoelectronic materials. However, its quantitative accuracy is often compromised by geometric artifacts, which are fundamentally linked to the Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA). In this work, we systematically investigate a critical artifact arising from the X-ray beampath length, which significantly alters measured scattering intensities. Through model studies on well-known organic and inorganic thin films, we establish a clear correlation between beampath length and intensity distortions, differentiating this phenomenon from the conventional footprint effect. Crucially, we propose a practical extrapolation method to effectively correct for these beampath-dependent artifacts. This approach enables the extraction of intrinsic crystallographic parameters free from geometric distortions, paving the way for more reliable structure-property relationships and robust in-situ/operando characterization.