Category of Work
Article
Publication Title
American Journal of Physics
Abstract
Ellipsometry is an optical analysis technique that is useful for characterizing the physical properties of a thin-film system. Light reflected from a sample surface undergoes a change in polarization due to phase delay and anisotropic reflection. This enables one to perform non-destructive measurements of film thickness, surface roughness, refractive index, and other optical constants. Ellipsometric techniques are particularly convenient for characterizing coatings or films in the semiconductor and optics industries. However, these techniques may be inaccessible to undergraduate students and educators due to the prohibitive cost of ellipsometers and similar instrumentation. In response to this roadblock, we describe the construction of a simple, inexpensive, manually operated, rotating analyzer ellipsometer (RAE). Required materials include a laser pointer, polarizing film, photometric detector, and a 3D-printed opto-mechanical framework, which are all readily accessible at most institutions. The instrument's performance was evaluated by comparing thickness measurements of tetraethyl orthosilicate films to those determined by a commercially available reflectometer. An average film thickness difference of 0.77% was measured using the two instruments.
First Page
445
Last Page
451
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0009665
Publication Date
6-1-2022
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Mantia, Matthew and Bixby, Teresa J., "Optical measurements on a budget: A 3D-printed ellipsometer" (2022). Chemistry Department Faculty Articles. 4.
https://digitalcommons.lewisu.edu/chemistry_facpubs/4
Comments
This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Mantia, M & Bixby, T. (2022). Optical measurements on a budget: A 3D-printed ellipsometer. Am. J. Phys, 90(6): 445–451 and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0009665.
This article was the feature article for the issue. Please see the cover image for the issue, which is attached as a supplemental file to this submission.