Determining thickness and refractive index from free-standing ultra-thin polymer films with spectroscopic ellipsometry
Abstract
It is a well-known challenge to determine refractive index (n) from ultra-thin films where the thickness is less than about 10 nm. In this paper, we discovered an interesting exception to this issue while characterizing spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) data from isotropic, free-standing polymer films. Ellipsometry analysis shows that both thickness and refractive index can be independently determined for free-standing films as thin as 5 nm. Simulations further confirm an orthogonal separation between thickness and index effects on the experimental SE data. Effects of angle of incidence and wavelength on the data and sensitivity are discussed. Finally, while others have demonstrated methods to determine refractive index from ultra-thin films, our analysis provides the first results to demonstrate high-sensitivity to the refractive index from ultra-thin layers.
- Authors:
-
- J.A. Woollam Co., Lincoln, NE (United States)
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); J.A. Woollam Co., Lincoln, NE (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE; LLNL Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1438647
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1550721
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-747834
Journal ID: ISSN 0169-4332
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344; 14-ERD-025
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Applied Surface Science
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 421; Journal Issue: B; Journal ID: ISSN 0169-4332
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 42 ENGINEERING; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; spectroscopic ellipsometry; free-standing thin films; ultrathin film; index-thickness correlation; refractive index; nanometer thickness
Citation Formats
Hilfiker, James N., Stadermann, Michael, Sun, Jianing, Tiwald, Tom, Hale, Jeffrey S., Miller, Philip E., and Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel. Determining thickness and refractive index from free-standing ultra-thin polymer films with spectroscopic ellipsometry. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.08.131.
Hilfiker, James N., Stadermann, Michael, Sun, Jianing, Tiwald, Tom, Hale, Jeffrey S., Miller, Philip E., & Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel. Determining thickness and refractive index from free-standing ultra-thin polymer films with spectroscopic ellipsometry. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.08.131
Hilfiker, James N., Stadermann, Michael, Sun, Jianing, Tiwald, Tom, Hale, Jeffrey S., Miller, Philip E., and Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel. Sat .
"Determining thickness and refractive index from free-standing ultra-thin polymer films with spectroscopic ellipsometry". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.08.131. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1438647.
@article{osti_1438647,
title = {Determining thickness and refractive index from free-standing ultra-thin polymer films with spectroscopic ellipsometry},
author = {Hilfiker, James N. and Stadermann, Michael and Sun, Jianing and Tiwald, Tom and Hale, Jeffrey S. and Miller, Philip E. and Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel},
abstractNote = {It is a well-known challenge to determine refractive index (n) from ultra-thin films where the thickness is less than about 10 nm. In this paper, we discovered an interesting exception to this issue while characterizing spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) data from isotropic, free-standing polymer films. Ellipsometry analysis shows that both thickness and refractive index can be independently determined for free-standing films as thin as 5 nm. Simulations further confirm an orthogonal separation between thickness and index effects on the experimental SE data. Effects of angle of incidence and wavelength on the data and sensitivity are discussed. Finally, while others have demonstrated methods to determine refractive index from ultra-thin films, our analysis provides the first results to demonstrate high-sensitivity to the refractive index from ultra-thin layers.},
doi = {10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.08.131},
journal = {Applied Surface Science},
number = B,
volume = 421,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Aug 27 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Sat Aug 27 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}
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Works referencing / citing this record:
On the Optical Properties of Thin‐Film Vanadium Dioxide from the Visible to the Far Infrared
journal, August 2019
- Wan, Chenghao; Zhang, Zhen; Woolf, David
- Annalen der Physik, Vol. 531, Issue 10
Substructure imaging of heterogeneous nanomaterials with enhanced refractive index contrast by using a functionalized tip in photoinduced force microscopy
journal, October 2018
- Jahng, Junghoon; Yang, Heejae; Lee, Eun Seong
- Light: Science & Applications, Vol. 7, Issue 1
Recent advances in hybrid measurement methods based on atomic force microscopy and surface sensitive measurement techniques
journal, January 2017
- Handschuh-Wang, Stephan; Wang, Tao; Zhou, Xuechang
- RSC Adv., Vol. 7, Issue 75
Optical properties of thin-film vanadium dioxide from the visible to the far infrared
text, January 2019
- Wan, Chenghao; Zhang, Zhen; Woolf, David
- arXiv
Substructure imaging of heterogeneous nanomaterials with enhanced refractive index contrast by using a functionalized tip in photoinduced force microscopy
journal, October 2018
- Jahng, Junghoon; Yang, Heejae; Lee, Eun Seong
- Light: Science & Applications, Vol. 7, Issue 1