Dual-optical-comb spectroscopic ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a means to investigate optical and dielectric material responses. Conventional spectroscopic ellipsometry has trade-offs between spectral accuracy, resolution, and measurement time. Polarization modulation has afforded poor performance due to its sensitivity to mechanical vibrational noise, thermal instability, and polarization wavelength dependency. We equip a spectroscopic ellipsometer with dual-optical-comb spectroscopy, viz. dual-optical-comb spectroscopic ellipsometry (DCSE). The DCSE directly and simultaneously obtains amplitude and phase information with ultra-high spectral precision that is beyond the conventional limit. This precision is due to the automatic time-sweeping acquisition of the interferogram using Fourier transform spectroscopy and optical combs with well-defined frequency. Ellipsometric evaluation without polarization modulation also enhances the stability and robustness of the system. In this study, we evaluate the DCSE of birefringent materials and thin films, which showed improved spectral accuracy and a resolution of up to 1.2x10-5 nm across a 5-10 THz spectral bandwidth without any mechanical movement.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figure

Dual-comb spectroscopic ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a means of investigating optical and dielectric material responses. Conventional spectroscopic ellipsometry is subject to trade-offs between spectral accuracy, resolution, and measurement time. Polarization modulation has afforded poor performance because of its sensitivity to mechanical vibrational noise, thermal instability, and polarization-wavelength dependency. We combine spectroscopic ellipsometry with dual-comb spectroscopy, namely, dual-comb spectroscopic ellipsometry. Dual-comb spectroscopic ellipsometry (DCSE). DCSE directly and simultaneously obtains the ellipsometric parameters of the amplitude ratio and phase difference between s-polarized and p-polarized light signals with ultra-high spectral resolution and no polarization modulation, beyond the conventional limit. Ellipsometric evaluation without polarization modulation also enhances the stability and robustness of the system. In this study, we construct a polarization-modulation-free DCSE system with a spectral resolution of up to 1.2 × 10−5 nm throughout the spectral range of 1514–1595 nm and achieved an accuracy of 38.4 nm and a precision of 3.3 nm in the measurement of thin-film samples

Precise Measurement of the Thickness of a Dielectric Layer on a Metal Surface by Use of a Modified Otto Optical Configuration

<div><p>We propose a modified method for thickness measurement of a dielectric coating layer on metal based on Otto optical configuration (O-configuration). This method enables us to estimate the coating thickness that typically ranges from several tens of nanometers to more than one micrometer with precision less than a few nanometers. The common method to measure the thickness of dielectric coating layer is to utilize the frustrated total-internal reflection. In order to measure the thickness of several tens of nanometers, one can apply the surface-plasmon-resonance (SPR) phenomenon generated by the p-polarized light. For thickness larger than one hundred nanometers, a metal-clad leaky-waveguide (MCLW) mode generated by the p- or the s-polarized light can be employed without significant changes to the optical setup. The numerical and experimental verifications of the modified O-configuration reveals its effectiveness for precise measurement of moderately-thick dielectric coating layer on the metal.</p></div