Jiří Vohánka, Štěpán Šustek, Vilma Buršíková, Veronika Šklíbová, Václav Šulc, Vojtěch Homola, Daniel Franta, Martin Čermák, Miloslav Ohlídal, Ivan Ohlídal
Determining shape of thickness non-uniformity using variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry
Applied Surface Science 534 (2020) 147625
The effects of thickness non-uniformity on measured optical quantities must be often considered in the optical characterization. The effects of thickness non-uniformity can be taken into account by averaging the Mueller matrices over the distribution of local thicknesses within the measured area. The distribution of local thicknesses can be assumed in a certain form (e.g. the uniform distribution), or it can be derived on the basis of a model assuming a certain shape of thickness non-uniformity. The latter approach is especially useful for the variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry since it can take into account dependence on the incidence angle due to the changes in the size of the light spot. This paper presents results of the optical characterization of three polymer-like thin films highly non-uniform in thickness using variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. The shapes of the thickness non-uniform films are determined on the basis of a model assuming local thicknesses given by quadratic polynomials in coordinates along the surfaces of the films. The studied areas on the films were also measured by the imaging spectroscopic reflectometry, which provides a more direct method to determine local thicknesses. The results achieved using the imaging spectroscopic reflectometry and variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry were then compared.
DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.147625
You can also contact one of the authors: vohanka@physics.muni.cz, vilmab@physics.muni.cz, franta@physics.muni.cz, 63855@mail.muni.cz, ohlidal@physics.muni.cz