Ellipsometers
FAQs
Basics
- What is spectroscopic ellipsometry (without mathematics)?
- What is spectroscopic ellipsometry (with mathematics)?
- What are the advantages of spectroscopic ellipsometry?
- What types of materials can be measured with spectroscopic ellipsometry?
- What are Is, Ic, and Ic’?
- What can ex-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry measure?
- What can in-situ real time spectroscopic ellipsometry measure?
- Can spectroscopic ellipsometry measure unknown samples?
- What is polarization, and what types of polarization exist?
- What are optical properties?
- What thickness range can spectroscopic ellipsometry measure?
- What spectral range do HORIBA Scientific’s ellipsometers cover?
- What can we learn from the NIR region?
- What can we learn from the FUV region?
- What is the difference between spectroscopic ellipsometry and reflectometry?
- Should I choose reflectometry or ellipsometry for thickness measurements?
- What are the application fields of spectroscopic ellipsometry?
Instrumentation
- What types of ellipsometers are most common?
- What types of ellipsometers does HORIBA manufacture?
- What are the advantages of phase modulated ellipsometry?
- What is the advantage to measuring multiple wavelengths instead of just one (laser ellipsometry)?
- What are the vision and microspot capabilities?
- Why do I need the microspot?
- How many spot sizes can I get on one instrument and how easy it is to switch them?
- What is the smallest microspot available?
- How do I know which microspot size to choose?
- What is the difference between using a CCD detector or a monochromator/PMT detector?
- How does a photoelastic modulator work?
- What are the main advantages of the UVISEL/UVISEL 2 phase modulated ellipsometers?
- What are the main advantages of the Auto-SE/Smart-SE liquid crystal phase modulated ellipsometers?
Measurement Techniques
- How do I determine which angle to use?
- When do I need multiple angles of incidence?
- Can ellipsometry measure samples placed in liquid or solid/liquid interfaces?
- How can I deal with back reflections?
- Can I measure transmission/reflection with an ellipsometer?
- Can I perform reflectometry without buying the reflectometer accessory (RM)?
- Can I perform mapping on a sample?
- What accessories are available for the ellipsometer and what are they useful for?
Data Analysis
- How do I tell if my fit results are good?
- What is a good value for χ2?
- What if I see strong correlations in the correlation matrix?
- Which dispersion function do I choose for my sample?
- What are the most commonly used dispersion functions?
- What is an EMA?
- What types of EMA’s exist?
- How do I determine grading in my films?
- How do I determine an optical band gap?
- How do I determine crystallinity?
- How do I determine surface roughness?
