| AVS 63rd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Focus Topic | Friday Sessions |
| Session EL+AS+EM+MI+TF-FrM |
| Session: | Spectroscopic Ellipsometry: Novel Applications and Theoretical Approaches |
| Presenter: | Guowen Ding, Intermolecular, Inc. |
| Authors: | G. Ding, Intermolecular, Inc. C. Clavero, Intermolecular, Inc. D. Schweigert, Intermolecular, Inc. M. Le, Intermolecular, Inc. |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The optical and electrical response of metal thin films is highly affected by electronic scattering with the interfaces and defects. We are able to successfully model the electrical resistivity and near infrared (IR) optical response using a thickness dependent electronic scattering time. We investigated Ag films thickness in the range of 3 nm to 74 nm and determined that the product of electronic scattering time (τ ) and resistivity (ρ) remains constant regardless of the thickness (τ x ρ = C), with a value of 59±2 μΩ cm·fs for Ag films. As a result, determining the constant C for a given thin film will allow to calculate the propreties of the film over a large range of wavelengths while limiting the number of measurements.Our findings enable us to develop a theoretical framework to determine the optical response of metal thin films in the near IR by using single wavelength ellipsometer measurements. An excellent agreement is found between experimental measurements and predicted values. We first reported this constanτ τ x ρ =C for silver, and we posit that such constant concept could be applied for other conducting films. Application of the model presented here will allow rapid characterization of the IR optical response of metal thin films, with important application in a broad spectrum of fundamental and industrial applications, including optical coatings, low-emissivity windows and semiconductor industry.