EXPLORE ESRF BEAMLINES - BM32/IF CRG Beamline - X-ray Scattering for Interfaces and Surfaces - Jean-Sébastien Micha

REPLAY BM32/IF Webinar

Abbstract

The BM32 beamline at the ESRF, operated as a French CRG, is dedicated to the structural characterization of surfaces, buried interfaces, thin films, and micro-/nano-structured materials. It provides a versatile platform that combines complementary X-ray scattering and diffraction techniques with advanced sample environments, enabling multiscale investigations from the atomic level to micrometre dimensions.

BM32 serves a broad scientific community in physics, materials science, chemistry, nanotechnology, engineering, geoscience, and cultural heritage. Typical research topics include epitaxial growth and surface reconstructions, strain and defect distributions in crystalline materials, the morphology and ordering of nanostructures, structural evolution of buried interfaces, and the behavior of functional materials under extreme or operando conditions.

The beamline covers an energy range of ~5–30 keV and offers beam sizes from sub-micrometre spots to hundreds of microns. A suite of diffraction and scattering methods is available: surface grazing incidence diffraction and reflectivity (GIXD, XRR) for thin films and surfaces; grazing incidence small-angle scattering (GISAXS) for nanoscale morphology; anomalous diffraction for chemical sensitivity; Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS); and polychromatic Laue microdiffraction (with complementary monochromatic diffraction) for high-resolution mapping of orientation and strain.

Three complementary stations are operated: (i) INS², dedicated to surface and nanostructure studies under ultra-high vacuum and in situ growth conditions; (ii) GMT, a general-purpose goniometer for ex situ and operando measurements under controlled atmospheres, high/low temperature, or mechanical load; and (iii) µLaue, a white-beam microdiffraction station providing routine submicrometre spatial resolution strain mapping in 2D, through complementary differential aperture X-ray microscopy (DAXM) in 3D.

Advanced detectors and automated analysis pipelines support rapid data collection and processing, from orientation/strain tensor mapping to nanoscale morphology reconstruction. By bridging surface science, thin-film technology, and bulk microstructural analysis, BM32 offers unique capabilities for multiscale, operando, and 3D investigations of complex materials.