Multilayer thin film thickness measurement using sensitivity separation method

This paper, for the first time, proposed a new sensitivity separation (SS) method for measuring thicknesses of multilayer thin-film stack with high efficiency and accuracy. Through the analysis of the relationship between the film parameters and the mean misfit error (MSE), a parameter called sensitivity is defined. With this parameter, an estimated rational thickness is assigned to a layer with lower sensitivity first, and then the layer thickness with high sensitivity is further obtained by optimization techniques. This method will greatly reduce the searching range and increase the iterating efficiency. It is a pretreatment method and it can be used with other optimization methods. Both theory and simulation results are provided in detail. The uncertainty problems are discussed and examples are given to verify the effectiveness of this method.     

A high-precision optical metrology system for determining the thickness of birefringent wave plates

This study develops a non-destructive measurement system for determining the thickness and refractive indices of birefringent optical wave plates. Compared to previous methods presented in the literature, the proposed metrology system provides the ability to measure the thickness of the birefringent optical plate in high-precision. The results show that for a commercially available birefringent optical wave plate with refractive indices of n_e=1.5518, n₀=1.5427 and a thickness of 452.1428 μm, the experimentally determined value for the error in the wave plate thickness measurement is just 0.046 μm. The measurement resolution of the proposed system exceeds that of the interferometer hardware itself. The proposed method provides a simple yet highly accurate means of measuring the principal optical parameters of birefringent glass wave plates.     

基于生物光学模型的水面薄油膜厚度的高光谱遥感反演实验研究

研究水表薄油膜厚度与其反射率光谱之间的变化规律,对于分析海洋油膜污染和油气勘探的遥感探测机理具有十分重要的意义。建立了水面薄油膜厚度的生物光学模型,并介绍了单波段和双波段比值简化算法反演薄油膜厚度信息的方法。通过对原油样品进行油膜厚度定量反演,研究了遥感反射率随水表油膜厚度的变化规律。研究发现,可见光到近红外波段(450～800nm)反射率对油膜厚度变化最为敏感,有很高的负相关关系,并且随着油膜厚度的增加呈负指数形态下降。对于浅水环境较混浊的水体,ETM1/ETM3双波段比值模型可以较好的消除线性天空散射光的影响,克服单波段反演模型在不同水质背景下反演效果不稳定的特点,其反演结果的复相关系数R2可以达到0.98,是水表薄油膜厚度遥感探测的较好波段选择。     

Simulation analysis of the aluminum thin film thickness measurement by using low energy electron beam

This paper indicates a simulation analysis for estimating the aluminum (Al) thin film thickness measurements by using the low energy electron beam. In order to calculate the Al thickness estimation, the energy of the incident electron beams was varied from 10 to 30 keV, while the thickness of the Al film was varied between 6 and 14 μm. From the simulation results it was found that electron transmittance fraction in 14 μm sample is about nine orders of magnitude more than 6 μm sample at the same incident electron beam energy. Simulation results show that maximum transmitted electrons versus Al layer thickness has a parabolic relation and by using the obtained equation, it is possible to estimate unknown thickness of the thin film Al layer. All calculations here were done by CASINO numerical simulation package.     

A two-beam laser triangulation for measuring the position of a moving object

A two-beam laser triangulation method has been proposed to measure the position of a moving object. The method uses two parallel laser beams to judge the moving direction of an object, allowing us to track it and measure its positions. An uncertainty of 0.2 mm for a measurement range of 50 mm has been obtained. This tracking measurement capability is useful in the calibration of the position of a moving robot arm.     

A Wavelet-Based Processing method for simultaneously determining ultrasonic velocity and material thickness

Methods of measuring ultrasonic wave velocity in an elastic sample require data on the thickness of the sample and/or the distances between the transducers and the sample. The uncertainty of the ultrasonic wave velocity measurements generally depends on that of the data available. Conversely, to determine the thickness of a material, it is necessary to have a priori information about the wave velocity. This problem is particularly hard to solve when measuring the parameters of biological specimens such as bones having a greater acoustical impedance contrast (typically 3-5 MRayl) than that of the surrounding soft tissues (typically 1.5 MRayl). Measurements of this kind cannot easily be performed. But obtaining the thickness of a bone structure and/or the ultrasonic wave velocity is a important problem, for example, in biomechanical field for the calculation of elastic modulus, or in acoustical imaging field to parameterize the images, and to reference the grey or color level set to a physical parameter.The aim of the present study was to develop a method of simultaneously and independently determining the velocity of an ultrasonic wave in an elastic sample and the wave path across the thickness of this sample, using only one acquisition in pure transmission mode. The new method, which we have called the “Wavelet-Based Processing” method, is based on the wavelet decomposition of the signals and on a suitable transmitted incident wave correlated with the experimental device, and the mathematical properties such as orthonormality, of which lend themselves well to the time-scale approach. By following an adapted algorithm, ultrasonic wave velocities in parallelepipedic plates of elastic manufactured material and the apparent thicknesses were both measured using a water tank, a mechanical device and a matched pair of 1 MHz ultrasonic focused transducers having a diameter of 3 mm, a focal length of 150 mm and beam width of 2 × 2 mm at the focus (mean temperature 22°). The results were compared with those obtained with a conventional Pulse-mode method and with the control values, to check their validity. Measurements performed on bovine and human dry cortical bone samples are also presented to assess the limitations of the method when it is applied to elastic biological samples, including those of an equal-wavelength size (≈1.5 mm). The thicknesses and the ultrasonic wave velocities were then measured in this kind of (quasi-) parallelepipedic elastic materials with an mean estimated error ranged from 1% to 3.5% compared to the referenced values.     

如何做好"用油膜法估测分子的大小"实验

介绍了“用油膜法估测分子的大小”实验的准备工作及对学生进行正确实验指导的方法。     

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。     

On the dependence of surface undulation on film thickness

This paper investigates the dependence of surface undulation on a film thickness considerably greater than the critical value of a thin film system. It considers that surface tension and residual stress are the main cause of surface undulation. The study found that there is a critical undulation wavelength that minimizes the free energy of a thin film system, that this critical wavelength depends on the film thickness, and the effect of undulation amplitude is insignificant. The research also found that the surface undulation has a negligible influence on the residual stresses in the thin film system.     

A study of stitch line formation during high speed laser patterning of thin film indium tin oxide transparent electrodes

High speed laser patterning of indium tin oxide thin films on glass is part of the production method used to produce transparent conductive electrodes for plasma display panels. Such a design consists of rows of repeating electrode structures which cover the active area of the display. Whilst the patterning process for such electrode structures exceeds the industrial acceptance criteria there are certain features that are yet to be fully understood. The visible line that occurs in-between two adjacent laser processed areas, commonly known as a stitch line, is one such feature. Previously published research claimed that the stitch line was caused by incomplete removal of the thin film however experimental results presented within this paper demonstrate that this cannot be the case and show that the stitch line is formed by redeposition of the plume of ablated material within the area of overlap with the previous pulse, and that heating of the sample by the second pulse plays a key role in stitch line formation.     

关于“用油膜法估测分子的大小”的实验指导

介绍“用油膜法估测分子的大小”实验的准备过程中需注意的几个问题。     

激光法红外热像镜组中心偏测量与调校研究

论述了多镜片成像光学镜组中心偏的理论表征 ,以及自准反射旋转法测量中心偏的原理。设计了用于红外光学镜组的中心偏检测系统。系统包括用于 8～ 14 μm红外光学系统中心偏测量的CO2 激光 ;可调焦望远镜 ;采用TGS热释电热像仪与计算机配合的数据读出及处理系统 ;径向跳动≤ 1μm ,轴向晃动≤ 1″的高精密基准轴工作台。系统测量中心偏精度为 :角度≤ 2″ ,线度≤ 0 .0 2mm。给出了中心偏数据处理程序。系统也可用于在线装校 ,更换光源 (用He Ne激光代替CO2 激光 )系统可用于 3～ 5 μm红外光学系统的测量。进一步改进并利用激光的相干特性 ,系统可实现中心偏测量精度≤ 1μm。     

Femtosecond laser ablation of polypropylene for breathable film

A polypropylene (PP) film was ablated using a femtosecond laser with a center wavelength of 785 nm, a pulse width of 184 fs and a repetition rate of 1 kHz. Increments of both the pulse energy and the shot number of pulses lead to co-occurrence of photochemical and thermal effect, demonstrated by the spatial expansion of rim on the surface of PP. The shapes of the laser-ablated PP films were imaged by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and measured by a 3D optical measurement system (NanoFocus). And, the gas and water vapor transmission rate, mechanical properties of PP film micropatterned by fs laser pulses was characterized. Our results demonstrate that a femtosecond pulsed laser is an efficient tool for breathable packaging films in modifying the flow of air and gas, where the micropatterns are specifically tailored in size, location and number of which is easily controlled by laser processing conditions.     

A method for measuring the complex refractive index and thickness of a thin metal film

A circularly polarized heterodyne light beam is incident on a thin metal film, causing successive reflections and refractions to occur at the two sides of the thin film. The phase difference between p- and s-polarizations of the multiple-beam interference signal can be measured accurately with an analyzer and heterodyne interferometry. The phase difference depends on the azimuth angle of the analyzer, the complex refractive index and the thickness of the thin metal film. The measured values of the phase differences under three different azimuth angles of the analyzer can be substituted into the special equations derived from Fresnels equations and multiple-beam interference. Hence, the complex refractive index and the thickness of the thin metal film can be estimated by using a personal computer with a numerical analysis technique. Because of its common-path optical configuration and its heterodyne interferometric phase measurement, this method has many merits, such as high stability against surrounding vibrations, high resolution and easy operation. PACS 78.66.Bz; 78.20.Ci; 07.60.Cy     

A prediction-correction scheme for microchannel milling using femtosecond laser

In this paper, a prediction-correction scheme is proposed to online measure and regulate the milling depth of microchannel using an indicator of laser triggered plasma. Firstly, a prediction model, with respect to the laser fluence and feedrate, is established with several calibration tests using the least square fitting method. It is utilized to change the focal position of objective to track the depth evolution of newly generated surface. Meanwhile, a scanning path for every milling layer with an offset in Z-axis at the beginning and the end of the trajectory, is developed to drive the plasma brightness periodically changing. Then, the milling depth could be obtained when the brightness reaches to the maximum value. By doing so, an online measurement method is presented to estimate the milling depth using the trend of plasma brightness. Furthermore, a correction model is developed to iteratively adjust the feedrate with the online estimated depth. Therefore, the microchannel milling process could be monitored and controlled in a closed-loop manner, in order to accurately regulate the milling depth. Finally, an online measurement and closed-loop microchannel milling is carried out on the self-developed micro-machining center. The effectiveness and correctness of the proposed method are verified by comparing the estimated depth with the actually measured results.     

Effect of solid surface on the formation of thin confined lubricating film of water with micro-content of oil

The formation of confined film between two contacting surfaces is significant for evaluating the lubricating ability of liquid. A micro-content of oil in water was experimentally demonstrated to be significantly effective to the film formation of water, which was much thicker than predicted by elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory. The effect of solid surface characteristics on the liquid film confined in a nanogap has been investigated. The film forming performances of such films were presented. The work of adhesion between two different phases was calculated, and the competitive wetting behaviours of water and oil on different solid surfaces were employed to understand the film formation mechanism.     

Manipulation of effective thermal conductivity of multilayer thin film by varying thickness ratio of layers using Monte Carlo simulation

Using the kinetic-type Monte Carlo method, we have simulated the effective thermal conductivity of multilayer thin film with spectral diffuse mismatch model for interface treatment. The results show a monotonously increasing relationship between the thermal conductivity and the material thickness closer to isothermal boundary with a varied size ratio whereas the fixed material amount in two four-layer thin films. This is explained by relatively more significant size effect of the layer closer to the isothermal boundary than that of the layer apart from the isothermal boundary. The finding in the present work guides a new way for optimization and design of interface structures at micro- and nano-scale.     

Measuring the thickness and refractive index of a thick transparent plate by an unexpanded laser beam

The thickness and refractive index of a thick transparent plate are measured by using an unexpanded HeNe laser beam. The laser beam is incident at different angles onto the plate; and then two reflected beams; from the front and back surfaces; are received on a distant screen: the corresponding separations between them are measured. A theoretical relation between the refractive index; thickness; angle of incidence and separation is derived. This relation is experimentally verified and shows good agreement. The errors in the measured thickness and refractive index are analysed. The method is non-contact; non-destructive and low cost.     

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。     

Radius of curvature measurements for laser beams: A simple method

A simple method for measuring the radius of curvature of laser beams is introduced. It has been developed to estimate the astigmatic aberration of a diode laser. Compared with the interferometry, this method is convenient and straightforward.