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Dual beam light profile microscopy: a new technique for optical absorption depth profilometry.

J F Power¹, S W Fu

¹Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, Qc, H3A 2K6 Canada. joan.power@mcgill.ca

Applied Spectroscopy

|December 5, 2006

Summary

Light profile microscopy (LPM) can now depth profile optical absorption coefficients in thin films using a novel dual-beam method. This technique accurately reconstructs absorption profiles, offering a new tool for material characterization.

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Area of Science:

Optical Physics
Materials Science
Thin-Film Analysis

Background:

Light profile microscopy (LPM) is an optical inspection technique for micrometer-scale imaging of thin-film cross-sections.
Current LPM methods primarily use single-beam illumination for contrast based on scattering and luminescence.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce and validate a novel dual-beam LPM method for depth profiling optical absorption coefficients in thin films.
To establish a theoretical framework relating differential absorbance to the depth-dependent optical absorption coefficient.

Main Methods:

A dual-beam irradiation approach using two opposing collimated laser beams.
Recording light intensity variation profiles along the depth axis for each beam direction.
Computing a depth-dependent differential absorbance profile.
Inverting a linear model using numerical linear algebra to determine the optical absorption coefficient.

Main Results:

The dual-beam LPM method successfully computes a depth-dependent differential absorbance profile.
Theoretical analysis shows a linear relationship between differential absorbance and the optical absorption coefficient.
Experimental application to well-characterized materials yielded reconstructed absorption profiles consistent with reference data over tens of micrometers.
The inverse problem demonstrated good immunity to data errors.

Conclusions:

The developed dual-beam LPM technique enables accurate depth profiling of optical absorption coefficients in thin films.
This method provides a robust and reliable approach for material characterization at the micrometer scale.
The technique shows promise for analyzing optical properties of various thin-film materials.