A surface scientist's view on spectroscopic ellipsometry

Abstract

Nowadays, a broad choice of instruments, including dedicated synchrotron radiation beamlines, allows to exploit Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) to investigate the thickness and the dielectric properties of thin films, from the terahertz down to the VUV wavelength range. Instruments combining fast parallel detection, precision, accuracy, are pushing forward real time and in-situ applications, to monitor the dynamics of processes such as e.g. film growth, oxidation, polymerization, electrochemical processes, with a diverging spectrum of scientific and industrial applications in the fields of nano-electronics, coatings, solar cell materials, polymer technology, bio-sensing, photonics, just to name a few. This chapter, beyond presenting the essentials of principles and instrumentation of SE, is intended to place this thin-film technique in the perspective of the surface scientist, through the selection of applications to ultra-thin films and nanostructures. Emphasis is placed on reflection experiments, in the 190-1700 nm wavelength range covered by high-quality commercial instruments, although some infra-red (IRSE) and far UV experiments are also discussed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.