The Reflection of X-Rays from Platinum Films Sputtered on Glass

Abstract

The reflection of x-rays from films of platinum of varying thicknesses sputtered on glass was studied to determine if there was a variation of the critical angle of reflection with the thickness of the film, such as is observed in the case of nickel. Although some difficulty was met in determining the critical angles, the results indicate that there is a similar variation of the maximum angle of reflection. The critical angles of several silver films, sputtered under as nearly identical conditions as possible, were found to differ by amounts much greater than can be attributed to experimental errors. No effort was made to determine if there was a variation with thickness. In the cases of a number of films strong scattered radiation having deviations as great as 1°46′ with the primary beam was observed. The reflected beam proper formed the lower limit of the scattered beam. As heterogeneous radiation was being used, it could not be determined whether the reflected wave-lengths were also being scattered.