Optical characterization of macro-, micro- and nanostructures using polarized light

Abstract

Reflection of light measured in a polarimetric, scatterometric and spectroscopic way allows the measurement of structures in a broad size range from large (meter) scales like photovoltaic panels down to small (nanometer) scales like nanocrystals. Optical metrology continues to be improved to measure those materials with increasing sensitivity and accuracy, typically in a form of thin films on high quality substrates. This review provides an overview of some recently developed or improved methods, e.g. divergent light source ellipsometry for the mapping of large surfaces for photovoltaic applications, Fourier scatterometry for the measurement of periodic structures with sizes comparable to the wavelength of illumination, as well as spectroscopy around the band gap photon energies to characterize nanostructures - without attempting completeness.