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 language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 214-219 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Microscopy |
Volume | 210 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2003 |
Keywords
- Ellipsometer
- Near-field
- Optical tunnelling
- Solid immersion
- Ultra-thin film characterization