Near-field nano-ellipsometer for ultrathin film characterization

Qiwen Zhan, J. R. Leger

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

We describe a near-field ellipsometer for accurate characterization of ultrathin dielectric films. Optical tunnelling mimics the absorption in metallic films, enabling accurate measurement of the refractive index of ultrathin dielectric film. A regression model shows that a refractive index resolution of 0.001 for films as thin as 1 nm is possible. A solid-immersion nano-ellipsometer that incorporates this near-field ellipsometric technique with a solid-immersion lens is constructed to demonstrate the viability of this technique. Such a nanoellipsometer can accurately characterize thin films ranging in thickness from subnanometre to micrometres with potential transverse resolution of the order of 100 nm.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)214-219
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Microscopy
Volume210
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2003

Keywords

  • Ellipsometer
  • Near-field
  • Optical tunnelling
  • Solid immersion
  • Ultra-thin film characterization

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