| AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Focus Topic | Thursday Sessions |
| Session EL+AS+EM+EN+SS-ThM |
| Session: | Spectroscopic Ellipsometry for Photovoltaics and Instrument Development |
| Presenter: | Thomas Tiwald, J.A. Woollam Co., Inc. |
| Authors: | T. Tiwald, J.A. Woollam Co., Inc. J. VanDerslice, University of Nebraska Lincoln Z. Xiao, University of Nebraska Lincoln J.S. Huang, University of Nebraska Lincoln |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
It is often difficult to determine the surface-normal dielectric functions of anisotropic materials, because to lack of sensitivity to optical properties out of the surface plane[1][2]. The primary cause is the large angle of refraction that occurs as the light enters from low index medium like air. In these circumstances, the penetrating light beam bends strongly towards surface normal, resulting in electric fields that are oriented primarily in the surface plane. This is a particular problem for absorbing films, since most of the light collected by the detector is reflected from the ambient/film interface. We use a total internal reflection method to enhance ellipsometric sensitivity to optical properties of uniaxial absorbing materials in the out-of-plane direction. This non-destructive technique is illustrated using a P3HT poly(3-hexylthiophene) film on fused silica, and the results are compared to the standard air/film/substrate method.
[1] D.E. Aspnes. J. Opt. Soc. Am., 70, 10, 1275 (1980).
[2] G. E. Jellison Jr. and J. S. Baba, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A23, 2 468 (2006).