Measurement of ellipsometric data and surface orientations by modulated circular polarized light / Messung von ellipsometrischen Daten und Oberflächenorientierungen durch moduliertes zirkular polarisiertes Licht
AbstractEllipsometry is a widely used optical method for the characterization of materials and thin films. However, only flat or nearly flat surfaces can be measured since small deviations of the angle of incidence might lead to significant experimental errors. In order to overcome the geometrical limitations of ellipsometry, the retroreflex ellipsometry developed at Fraunhofer IOSB is used. Based on this configuration, a new illumination method is proposed. When the sample is illuminated by modulated circular polarized light (LCP and RCP), the ellipsometric parameters (Ψ, Δ) and the tilted angle (Φ) can be determined directly. Combined with reflectance measurement or prior knowledge of optical properties of samples, the surface orientation can be obtained.