Grazing angle attenuated total reflection spectroscopy: fields at the interface and source of the enhancement

With the tremendous growth in the semiconductor and coatings industries, spectroscopic methods of examining extremely thin films on high refractive index substrates have become increasingly important. One infrared method for analyzing monolayers on substrates such as silicon and gold that has recently gained popularity is 'grazing' or high angle of incidence attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy. This paper investigates the directional electric field strengths and the extraordinary sensitivity achieved by using the grazing angle ATR method for analyzing monolayers on silicon substrates.