Ellipsometry Measurement of Novel Optical Materials
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by the Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation through the National Science Foundation under Award No. HRD-1410465.
Abstract
The index of refraction is a material property that determines the speed of light propagating through it. Optical fibers transmit data using the principle of total internal reflection, a phenomenon that depends on the refractive indices of two materials. A material’s index of refraction can be measured using ellipsometry. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a non-destructive optical technique that is used to characterize thin films on substrates. Ellipsometers collect data by reflecting linearly polarized light off a sample and measuring the change in polarization in order to characterize it. Analysis of the ellipsometry data is done by creating models which represent the sample and its different layers. In this project, spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to find the index of refraction of two samples. Sample 1 was a sapphire substrate with no thin film layers on it. Sample 2 was a sapphire substrate with a thin layer of aluminum.
Ellipsometry Measurement of Novel Optical Materials
The index of refraction is a material property that determines the speed of light propagating through it. Optical fibers transmit data using the principle of total internal reflection, a phenomenon that depends on the refractive indices of two materials. A material’s index of refraction can be measured using ellipsometry. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a non-destructive optical technique that is used to characterize thin films on substrates. Ellipsometers collect data by reflecting linearly polarized light off a sample and measuring the change in polarization in order to characterize it. Analysis of the ellipsometry data is done by creating models which represent the sample and its different layers. In this project, spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to find the index of refraction of two samples. Sample 1 was a sapphire substrate with no thin film layers on it. Sample 2 was a sapphire substrate with a thin layer of aluminum.
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