Ellipsometers

Basics

  1. What is spectroscopic ellipsometry (without mathematics)?
  2. What is spectroscopic ellipsometry (with mathematics)?
  3. What are the advantages of spectroscopic ellipsometry?
  4. What types of materials can be measured with spectroscopic ellipsometry?
  5. What are Is, Ic, and Ic’?
  6. What can ex-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry measure?
  7. What can in-situ real time spectroscopic ellipsometry measure?
  8. Can spectroscopic ellipsometry measure unknown samples?
  9. What is polarization, and what types of polarization exist?
  10. What are optical properties?
  11. What thickness range can spectroscopic ellipsometry measure?
  12. What spectral range do HORIBA Scientific’s ellipsometers  cover?
  13. What can we learn from the NIR region?
  14. What can we learn from the FUV region?
  15. What is the difference between spectroscopic ellipsometry and reflectometry?
  16. Should I choose reflectometry or ellipsometry for thickness measurements?
  17. What are the application fields of spectroscopic ellipsometry?

Instrumentation

  1. What types of ellipsometers are most common?
  2. What types of ellipsometers does HORIBA manufacture?
  3. What are the advantages of phase modulated ellipsometry?
  4. What is the advantage to measuring multiple wavelengths instead of just one (laser ellipsometry)?
  5. What are the vision and microspot capabilities?
  6. Why do I need the microspot?
  7. How many spot sizes can I get on one instrument and how easy it is to switch them?
  8. What is the smallest microspot available?
  9. How do I know which microspot size to choose?
  10. What is the difference between using a CCD detector or a monochromator/PMT detector?
  11. How does a photoelastic modulator work?
  12. What are the main advantages of the UVISEL/UVISEL 2 phase modulated ellipsometers?
  13. What are the main advantages of the Auto-SE/Smart-SE liquid crystal phase modulated ellipsometers?

Measurement Techniques

  1. How do I determine which angle to use?
  2. When do I need multiple angles of incidence?
  3. Can ellipsometry measure samples placed in liquid or solid/liquid interfaces?
  4. How can I deal with back reflections?
  5. Can I measure transmission/reflection with an ellipsometer?
  6. Can I perform reflectometry without buying the reflectometer accessory (RM)?
  7. Can I perform mapping on a sample?
  8. What accessories are available for the ellipsometer and what are they useful for?

Data Analysis

  1. How do I tell if my fit results are good?
  2. What is a good value for χ2?
  3. What if I see strong correlations in the correlation matrix?
  4. Which dispersion function do I choose for my sample?
  5. What are the most commonly used dispersion functions?
  6. What is an EMA?
  7. What types of EMA’s exist?
  8. How do I determine grading in my films?
  9. How do I determine an optical band gap?
  10. How do I determine crystallinity?
  11. How do I determine surface roughness?