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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Evanescent Field Based Photoacoustics: Optical Property Evaluation at Surfaces
Published on: July 26, 2016
Reflection-transmission photoellipsometry: theory and experiments
Abstract:
We propose a method that uses reflection and transmission photoellipsometry to analyze samples consisting of thin films combined with semitransparent thick layers or substrates in the form of multilayer structures. Athick film or substrate is defined as a layer for which no interference effects can be observed for a given wavelength resolution, and contributions from multiple reflections in the substrate are taken into account in the theoretical treatment. An automatic reflection-transmission spectroscopic ellipsometer was built to test the theory, and satisfactory results have been obtained. Examples corresponding to a strongly absorbing film deposited on a glass substrate and a highly transmitting film also deposited on glass are shown. In both cases a good fit between theory and experiment is found. The photoellipsometric method presented is particularly suited to the analysis of actual samples of energy-efficient coatings for windows.
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