Daniel Franta, Ivan Ohlídal

Optical characterization of inhomogeneous thin films of ZrO₂ by spectroscopic ellipsometry and spectroscopic reflectometry

Surface and Interface Analysis 30 (2000) 574–579

In this paper results concerning the optical characterization of the inhomogeneous thin films of ZrO₂ are presented. The optical characterization of these films is performed using the simultaneous interpretation of experimental data corresponding to variable angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) and near-normal incidence spectroscopic reflectometry (NNSR). It is shown that the ZrO₂-films exhibit a depth inhomogeneity concerning their refractive indices. Further, it is shown that the ZrO₂-films studied can be replaced by the four-layer system from the point of view of satisfactory fits of the experimental data. The values of the thicknesses and spectral dependences of the refractive indices of these four films are determined. Moreover, it is proved that the individual methods, i.e. VASE and especially NNSR, can not be separately used to characterize the ZrO₂-films investigated.

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