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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Fabrication of Ultra-thin Color Films with Highly Absorbing Media Using Oblique Angle Deposition

Fabrication of Ultra-thin Color Films with Highly Absorbing Media Using Oblique Angle Deposition

Published on: August 29, 2017

Effective-substrate theory for optical reflection from a layered substrate.

J P Landry¹, X Wang, Y Y Fei

¹Department of Physics, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. B, Optical Physics

|September 12, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Reflection from layered media simplifies to an effective semi-infinite medium. This optical dielectric constant approach aids ellipsometry analysis for surface processes like thin film growth.

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Area of Science:

Optics and Photonics
Materials Science

Background:

Ellipsometry is crucial for analyzing thin films and surface reactions.
Complex layered structures complicate optical modeling.

Purpose of the Study:

To simplify the optical analysis of layered media.
To develop an effective medium approximation for ellipsometry.

Main Methods:

Theoretical analysis of light reflection from layered structures.
Derivation of effective optical dielectric constants.

Main Results:

Reflection from layered media is equivalent to reflection from an effective semi-infinite medium.
The effective medium has distinct dielectric constants for s- and p-polarized light.

Conclusions:

The effective-substrate approach simplifies ellipsometry analysis.
Applicable to thin film growth and surface-bound reactions.