Getting started

X-Ray Calc is a software for computer simulation of X-ray reflectivity, including normal incidence and grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry (NIXR and GIXR). The X-Ray Calc distribution contains several demonstration projects located in the Examples folder.

To see the demos, click the Open button, navigate to the Examples folder, and select a project. Go to the Computation tab and click the Run button (Or press F5). You can also use the Calc all command (F12)

The project items could be easily modified: • To open the Properties dialog, double-click on a model name in the Project Items list. The dialog allows changing its name, color, and description. Or the dialog could be called from the right-click menu • Double-click on a layer will show the Layer Properties dialog. The dialog allows changing material, thickness, roughness, and layer density. • To change the number of stacks, double-click on it. The Stack Properties dialog allows renaming the stack and changing its name. • Commands on Stack and Layer panes allow manipulating the structure of a model (add or delete stacks and layers).

XRR calculation options can be changed using controls on the main toolbar.

Reflectivity could be calculated as a function of grazing angle or wavelength. Depending on the selected Mode, one of the panes By angle or By wavelength would be activated. These panes allow changing the parameters of calculation. • Polarization – should be both types of polarization used in the calculation. Using of s polarization is preferable when the calculation is performed at hard X-rays and low grazing angles (below 20°). In this case, the calculation speed would be significantly faster. In the cases of larger angles and softer irradiation, sp mode should be used.
• The number of points defines the precision of the calculation. The time of calculation linearly increases with the rising of the number. • Θ1 and Θ2 define the range of angles for calculation. The 2Θ checkbox enables calculation for Θ-2Θ geometry. ΔΘ implements the instrumental divergence of the incident beam. • The similar settings for adjustment of the wavelength range are used in the Wavelength mode.

These controls allow switching between the Linear/Log scale of the reflectivity plot and set the background level. The Legend on the Plot could be used to control the visibility of curves.

The Export button on the Result pane allows exporting the calculated curve to an ASCII file or copying it to the clipboard. The Save button on the Plot pane saves the graph as a graphical file (*.bmp).