Single-element rotating-polarizer ellipsometer for film-substrate systems

Abstract

A novel and very simple ellipsometer for the characterization of film-substrate systems that employs one rotating optical element (a polarizer) is proposed. The ellipsometer is based on detecting the angles of incidence at which a film-substrate system has equal amplitude attenuations for light polarized parallel (p) and perpendicular (s) to the plane of incidence. At a certain wavelength, the film thickness of the filmsubstrate system has to lie within permissible-thickness bands (PTB) for the technique to apply.

Single-instrument morphology: single-element polarizer (SEP) ellipsometers, reflecsometers, elliptometers, and reflectometers

“…For example constant -Δ and constant -ψ contours are, in general, useful experimentally [4]. The unit circle represents reflection-type retarders [1,5,6], it also provides for an experimental technique (single-element rotating-polarizer SERP ellipsometry) [7]. The real axis represents reflection-type linear partial polarizers [1,8], it also provides for another experimental technique (polarizer-surfaceanalyzer PSA ellipsometry) [1,9].…”

“…The first mode of operation of the single-instrument multi-technique system we discuss here is the single-element rotating-polarizer ellipsometer (SERP) [7]. The ellipsometer detects the intersection points of the CTC of the ellipsometric function of the film-substrate system under consideration with the unit circle of the complex ρ -plane.…”

“…The ellipsometer detects the intersection points of the CTC of the ellipsometric function of the film-substrate system under consideration with the unit circle of the complex ρ -plane. Here, the polarizer is rotated mechanically [7] or electromechanically [23] and the angle of incidence is changed (scanned). The detector signal is given by; In Eq.…”

Constant-psi constant-delta contour maps: applications to ellipsometry and to reflection-type optical devices

“…The CPC for = 450 gives all possible retarder designs (A = 0 -+1800). The same contour can be used with the single-element rotating-polarizer ellipsometer (SERPE) to obtain d. 5 The CDC for A = 0, 180 gives all possible designs for the linear-partial polarizer. The same contour can be used with polarizer-surface-analyzer (PSA) null ellipsometry to obtain d. 6 The accuracy of the results obtained by using the maps depends on the accuracy of plotting the map itself and on its size.…”

Explicit determination of thickness of a transparent film on a transparent substrate from angles of incidence of equal p and s reflectivities

“…Angles of incidence of equal p and s reflectivities are easily detected using, for example, a single-element rotating-polarizer ellipsometer 6 (SERPE). In SERPE, synchronous rotation at speed ω of a polarizer in the incident beam modulates the reflected light flux at 2ω with the modulation component disappearing when p and s re flectivity matching (PSRM) takes place.…”