The accuracies of photometric, polarimetric and ellipsometric methods for the optical constants of thin films

The inherent accuracies of various techniques for determining the optical constants of thin films have been assessed by computing the errors produced in n and k by known experimental errors in the optical functions being measured. The results are presented as arrays of error parallelograms in the n–k plane covering d/λ from 0.001 to 0.20 and θ from 5° to 85°.The largest regions of accuracy, in the form of annular quadrants, were obtained using the mixed photometric and polarimetric functions at small angles of incidence. Ellipsometry gives similar results at large angles of incidence but for photometry and for polarimetry the accurate regions were in the form of two lobes.The effects of errors in x and θ were also considered.     

The effects of post-thermal annealing on the optical parameters of indium-doped ZnO thin films

Indium-doped ZnO thin films are deposited on quartz glass slides by RF magnetron sputtering at ambient temper- ature. The as-deposited films are annealed at different temperatures from 400 C to 800 C in air for 1 h. Transmittance spectra are used to determine the optical parameters and the thicknesses of the films before and after annealing using a nonlinear programming method, and the effects of the annealing temperatures on the optical parameters and the thickness are investigated. The optical band gap is determined from the absorption coefficient. The calculated results show that the film thickness and optical parameters both increase first and then decrease with increasing annealing temperature from 400 C to 800 C. The band gap of the as-deposited ZnO:In thin film is 3.28 eV, and it decreases to 3.17 eV after annealing at 400 C. Then the band gap increases from 3.17 eV to 3.23 eV with increasing annealing temperature from 400 C to 800 C.     

椭偏与光度法联用精确测定吸收薄膜的光学常数与厚度

介绍了一种同时利用椭偏仪和分光光度计精确测量薄膜光学常数的方法, 并详细比较了该方法与使用单一椭偏仪拟合结果的可靠性.采用可变入射角光谱型椭偏仪（VASE）表征了250—1700 nm波段辉光放电法沉积的类金刚石薄膜,研究发现当仅用椭偏参数拟合时,由于厚度与折射率、消光系数的强烈相关性,无法得到吸收薄膜光学常数的准确解.如果加入分光光度计测得的透射率同时拟合,得到的结果具有很好的惟一性.该方法无需设定色散模型即可快速拟合出理想的结果,特别适合于确定透明衬底上较薄吸收膜的光学常数. 关键词： 光学常数 光谱型椭偏仪 吸收薄膜 透射率     

椭偏与光度法联用精确测定吸收薄膜的光学常数与厚度

介绍了一种同时利用椭偏仪和分光光度计精确测量薄膜光学常数的方法, 并详细比较了该方法与使用单一椭偏仪拟合结果的可靠性.采用可变入射角光谱型椭偏仪（VASE）表征了250—1700 nm波段辉光放电法沉积的类金刚石薄膜,研究发现当仅用椭偏参数拟合时,由于厚度与折射率、消光系数的强烈相关性,无法得到吸收薄膜光学常数的准确解.如果加入分光光度计测得的透射率同时拟合,得到的结果具有很好的惟一性.该方法无需设定色散模型即可快速拟合出理想的结果,特别适合于确定透明衬底上较薄吸收膜的光学常数.     

Determination of refractive indices and thickness of absorbing crystalline thin films by using prism coupler

Abstract

An improved method has been implemented to study the refection of optical plane waves from anisotropic and absorbing films. The refection from anisotropic non-absorbing films and from isotropic non-absorbing films can be shown as some special cases. The method in this paper can be applied to almost all kinds of materials involved in optical films and integrated optics studies. Guided waves in the anisotropic and absorbing waveguides are determined, and the prism coupler method is employed to determine refractive indices and thickness of the anisotropic and absorbing films. The results show that when we only couple light beams into films with small effective indices, the effect of the absorption can be neglected.     

Determination of refractive indices and thickness of absorbing crystalline thin films by using prism coupler

An improved method has been implemented to study the refection of optical plane waves from anisotropic and absorbing films. The refection from anisotropic non-absorbing films and from isotropic non-absorbing films can be shown as some special cases. The method in this paper can be applied to almost all kinds of materials involved in optical films and integrated optics studies. Guided waves in the anisotropic and absorbing waveguides are determined, and the prism coupler method is employed to determine refractive indices and thickness of the anisotropic and absorbing films. The results show that when we only couple light beams into films with small effective indices, the effect of the absorption can be neglected.     

可用于光存储的氧化物、次氧化物薄膜材料的研究及发展

介绍了可用于可录、可擦除、全息光存储及超分辨掩膜层的氧化物、次氧化物薄膜材料的种类、制备方法、光存储特性和存储机制。这类薄膜材料由于具有种类多、应用范围广、制备方法多样、写入灵敏度高和记录稳定性好等优点 ,正受到各国研究者越来越多的关注。分析总结了这类材料的研究现状、存在的主要问题和未来发展方向     

Improved SPR technique for determination of the thickness and optical constants of thin metal films

A novel method with single-wavelength light is developed to determine the optical constants and the thickness of a thin metal film. It bases on a new geometry that consists of a coupling prism, a transparent coating layer directly deposited onto the prism base, a thin metal film to be detected, and the air. The attenuated total reflection technique is employed in our configuration to excite two different kinds of surface plasmon waves simultaneously. As a result, the reflection curve shows two obvious surface plasmon resonant dips. Using the Chen's et al. (Opt. Soc. Am. 71 189, 1981) method, we can obtain two sets of () and thickness of the thin metal film through one resonant dip (surface plasmon), then the real value can be determined through the other resonant dip (modified long-range surface plasmon). Compared to conventional double wavelength method and the double-medium technique (Yang et al. Appl. Opt. 27 11, 1988), the present single-scan method avoids both the ambiguity of different conditions caused by two-scan technique, and the dispersion problem with different light wavelength.     

利用光学方法测量薄膜厚度的研究

介绍了测量固体薄膜厚度的光学方法。分析了这些方法的光学原理,对所使用的光源、测量范围、测量精度、实现的难度以及方法所适用的场合等多种因素进行了比较分析,结果表明:对于厚度在10～100μm范围的固体薄膜而言,激光干涉法是一种简单、易于实现且测量精度较高的方法。     

椭偏精确测定透明衬底上吸收薄膜的厚度及光学常数

椭偏仪难以精确测量透明衬底上吸收薄膜光学常数的原因:1)衬底的背面反射光为非相干光, 它的存在会极大的增加拟合难度; 2)衬底光学常数(折射率和消光系数)的差异会影响测量的准确性, 而且会在吸收薄膜的光学常数中表现出来, 需要单独测量其光学常数; 3)厚度与光学常数之间呈现强烈的关联性. 针对以上三个问题, 选择石英玻璃、载玻片、盖玻片和普通浮法玻璃作为研究对象. 采用折射率匹配法消除上述衬底背面反射光的影响. 结果显示, 折射率匹配法能够有效消除折射率在1.43-1.64、波长范围为190-1700 nm波段的石英、浮法玻璃等透明衬底的背面反射光. 之后, 通过拟合椭偏参数ψ和垂直入射时的透过率T₀ 分别得到以上衬底的折射率和消光系数. 拟合得到的结果与文献报道的趋势一致. 最后, 采用椭偏参数和透过率同时拟合的方法(SE+T法)得到类金刚石薄膜(沉积在石英玻璃上)和非晶硅薄膜(沉积在载玻片、盖玻片上)光学常数和厚度的准确解.     

The optical properties of thin erbium films

The effective dielectric constant, ε′₂, of very thin films of erbium on sodium chloride substrates was determined from measurements of normal incidence reflectance and transmittance in the visible spectrum. ε′₂ showed a maximum which moved to longer wavelengths as the film thickness increased. Electron microscopy revealed that the film islands grew flatter and more irregular with thickness. The shape factor of the islands, F, was calculated by a modified Maxwell-Garnett method and became smaller as the film thickness increased.     

一种可实现薄膜厚度在线测量的方法

介绍了一种测量固体薄膜厚度的光学方法。该方法具有测量速度快、可实现在线测量等特点。为解决薄膜生产过程中厚度在线检测问题,构造了一套软硬件实验系统,利用该系统进行实验的结果表明:在10~100μm厚度范围,测量误差小于10%,满足实际生产需要。     

磁控溅射不同厚度银膜的微结构及其光学常数

用直流溅射法在室温K9玻璃基底上制备了8.2nm—107.2nm范围内不同厚度的Ag薄膜，并用X射线衍射及计算机辅助优化程序对薄膜的微结构和光学常数进行了测试分析. 结构分析表明：制备的Ag薄膜均呈多晶状态，晶体结构均呈面心立方；随着膜厚的增加，薄膜的平均晶粒尺寸逐渐增大，晶面间距逐渐减小. 计算机辅助优化编程计算的薄膜光学常数分析表明：在波长550nm处，当膜厚小于17.5nm时，随着膜厚的增加，折射率n快速减小，消光系数k则快速增大；当膜厚大于17.5nm时，n和k逐渐趋于稳定. 关键词： 直流溅射镀膜 银膜 微结构 光学常数     

一种简易的薄膜光学特性测量装置

基于表面等离子波测量薄膜光学特性的原理 ,应用激光表面等离子波共振方法 ,建立了一种简易的测量薄膜光学特性的装置 ,并对实际的SiO2 薄膜进行了测量 ,实验和理论计算表明 ,薄膜厚度测量准确度可达纳米量级。还对测量系统作了简单的误差分析     

Thickness dependence of the optical constants of oxidized copper thin films based on ellipsometry and transmittance

Thin oxidized copper films in various thickness values are deposited onto quartz glass substrates by electron beam evaporation. The ellipsometry parameters and transmittance in a wavelength range of 300 nm–1000 nm are collected by a spectroscopic ellipsometer and a spectrophotometer respectively. The effective thickness and optical constants, i.e.,refractive index n and extinction coefficient k, are accurately determined by using newly developed ellipsometry combined with transmittance iteration method. It is found that the effective thickness determined by this method is close to the physical thickness and has obvious difference from the mass thickness for very thin film due to variable density of film.Furthermore, the thickness dependence of optical constants of thin oxidized Cu films is analyzed.     

Influence of composition on electrical and optical properties of new chalcogenide thin films from Ge-Se-Tl system

Bulk Ge₂₀Se_80−xTl_x (x ranging from 0 to 15 at%) chalcogenide glasses were prepared by conventional melt quenching technique. Thin films of these compositions were prepared by thermal evaporation, on glass and Si wafer substrates at a base pressure of 10⁻⁶ Torr. X-ray diffraction studies were performed to investigate the structure of the thin films. The absence of any sharp peaks in the X-ray diffractogram confirms that the films are amorphous in nature. The optical constants (absorption coefficient, optical band gap, extinction coefficient and refractive index) of Ge₂₀Se_80−xTl_x thin films are determined by absorption and reflectance measurements in a wavelength range of 400-900 nm. In order to determine the optical gap, the absorption spectra of films with different Tl contents were analyzed. The absorption data revealed the existence of allowed indirect transitions. The optical band gap showed a sharp decrease from 2.06 to 1.79 eV as the Tl content increased from 0% to 15%. It has been found that the values of absorption coefficient and refractive index increase while the extinction coefficient decreases with increase in Tl content in the Ge-Se system. These results are interpreted in terms of the change in concentration of localized states due to the shift in Fermi level. DC electrical conductivity of Ge₂₀Se_80−xTl_x thin films was carried out in a temperature range 293-393 K. The electrical activation energy of these films was determined by investigating the temperature dependence of dc conductivity. A decrease in the electrical activation energy from 0.91 to 0.55 eV was observed as the Tl content was increased up to 15 at% in Ge₂₀Se_80−xTl_x system. On the basis of pre-exponential factor, it is suggested that the conduction is due to thermally assisted tunneling of the carriers in the localized states near the band edges.     

沉积温度对硫化锌(ZnS)薄膜的结晶和光学特性影响研究

对不同温度下沉积的ZnS薄膜的结晶情况和光学特性进行了研究, 结果表明：沉积温度对ZnS薄膜的物理和光学特性有较大影响, 不同的温度沉积的ZnS薄膜具有不同的择优取向, 牢固度也大不相同; 不同沉积温度下, ZnS薄膜的光学常数也不尽相同. 温度为115 ℃和155 ℃时, ZnS薄膜的物理性能和光学性能较差, 不适合空间用光学薄膜的研制使用. 而190 ℃和230 ℃沉积温度下所得薄膜具有较好的物理和光学性能, 适合于不同要求的空间用薄膜器件的研制使用. 关键词： 硫化锌薄膜 沉积温度 表面形貌 光学常数     

基底温度对电子束蒸发制备氧化铝薄膜的影响

为了考察基底温度对氧化铝薄膜折射率以及沉积厚度的影响情况,在不同基底温度环境下,通过离子辅助电子束蒸发方式,在玻璃基底上制备了同一Tooling因子条件下所监测到相同厚度的Al2O3薄膜,利用分光光度计测量光谱透过率,依据光学薄膜相关理论,计算了基底温度在25℃～300℃范围内获得的膜层实际物理厚度为275.611 nm～348.447 nm,以及膜层折射率的变化。通过对实验结果的数值计算和曲线模拟,给出了基底温度对于薄膜的折射率和实际厚度的影响情况。     

Ge-Sb-Se硫系薄膜制备及光学特性研究

介绍了几种常见的硫系薄膜制备方法, 根据现有实验条件采用热蒸发法和磁控溅射法制备出Ge-Sb-Se三元体系硫系薄膜, 通过台阶仪测试薄膜的厚度和表面粗糙度, 计算出两种制备方法的成膜速率, 并通过X射线光电子能谱测试了两种制备方法所得薄膜与块体靶材组分的差别. 利用Z扫描技术和分光光度计测试了热蒸发法制备所得薄膜的三阶非线性性能和透过光谱, 计算出非线性折射率、非线性吸收系数和薄膜厚度等参数. 结果表明热蒸发法制备Ge-Sb-Se薄膜具有良好的物理结构和光学特性, 在集成光学器件方面很高的应用潜力.     

椭偏透射法测量氢化非晶硅薄膜厚度和光学参数

针对多角度椭偏测量透明基片上薄膜厚度和光学参数时基片背面非相干反射光的影响问题,报道了利用椭偏透射谱测量等离子增强化学气相沉积法(PECVD)制备的a-Si:H薄膜厚度和光学参数的方法,分析了基片温度T_s和辉光放电前气体温度T_g的影响.研究表明,用椭偏透射法测量的a-Si:H薄膜厚度值与扫描电镜(SEM)测得的值相当,推导得到的光学参数与其他研究者得到的结果一致.该方法可用于生长在透明基片上的其他非晶或多晶薄膜. 关键词： 椭偏测量 透射法 光学参数 氢化非晶硅薄膜