Direct numerical inversion method for kinetic ellipsometric data. I. Presentation of the method and numerical...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Accurate characterization of thin films is crucial for advanced materials and devices.
• Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a powerful optical technique for thin film analysis.
• Existing methods for multilayer thin film characterization can be complex and time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a direct numerical inversion method for determining the optical properties (refractive index) and thickness of thin transparent films.
• To enable precise characterization of the outermost layer in multilayer systems.
• To provide a fast and adaptable method for real-time thin film analysis.

Main Methods:

• Developed a direct numerical inversion technique based on second-order Taylor decomposition.
• Utilized Abelès matrices for analyzing the optical response of the newly grown layer.
• Expressed variations in spectroscopic ellipsometry data as polynomial functions of dielectric constant and thickness.

Main Results:

• The method accurately determines the refractive index and thickness of the outermost thin film layer.
• The inversion process is fast and efficient, suitable for real-time applications.
• The method successfully handles both continuous and discontinuous refractive index profiles.
• Demonstrated adaptability to various polarimetric instruments.

Conclusions:

• The developed direct numerical inversion method offers a fast and accurate approach for thin film characterization.
• This technique enhances the analysis of multilayer systems using spectroscopic ellipsometry.
• The method's versatility makes it applicable to a wide range of optical measurement instruments.