The present invention relates to the calibration and alignment of an X-ray
reflectometry ("XRR") system for measuring thin films. An aspect of the
present invention describes a method for accurately determining C.sub.0
for each sample placement and for finding the incident X-ray intensity
corresponding to each pixel of a detector array and thus permitting an
amplitude calibration of the reflectometer system. Another aspect of the
present invention relates to a method for aligning an angle-resolved X-ray
reflectometer that uses a focusing optic, which may preferably be a
Johansson crystal. Another aspect of the present invention is to validate
the focusing optic. Another aspect of the present invention relates to the
alignment of the focusing optic with the X-ray source. Another aspect of
the present invention concerns the correction of measurements errors
caused by the tilt or slope of the sample. Yet another aspect of the
present invention concerns the calibration of the vertical position of the
sample.
