Model approach to solving the inverse problem of X-ray reflectometry and its application to the study of the internal structure of hafnium oxide films

The key features of the inverse problem of X-ray reflectometry (i.e., the reconstruction of the depth profile of the dielectric constant using an experimental angular dependence of reflectivity) are discussed and essential factors leading to the ambiguity of its solution are analyzed. A simple approach to studying the internal structure of HfO₂ films, which is based on the application of a physically reasonable model, is considered. The principles for constructing a film model and the criteria for choosing a minimal number of fitting parameters are discussed. It is shown that the ambiguity of the solution to the inverse problem is retained even for the simplest single-film models. Approaches allowing one to pick out the most realistic solution from several variants are discussed.