Abstract

The accuracy of determination of film properties from ellipsometer measurements is determined by the accuracy with which ψ and Δ can be measured. This paper examines the effects of off-diagonal elements in the Jones matrices on calibration measurements in P -A, P -C -A, and P -S -A configurations. Based on these results, specific calibration procedures for determining instrument constants are given that will minimize the effects of off-diagonal elements. In particular, the method of McCrackin et al. for determining the polarizer–prism offset is found to be influenced by off-diagonal elements, and a simpler method based on extinction readings is presented. The advantages of using a sample with $\tilde{\rho }=\pm j$ during P -S -A calibration measurements and a subsequent P -C -S -A check are pointed out. Polarizer–prism beam deviation in combination with photomultiplier sensitivity variations has been found to be a source of error. However, a specific procedure for determining the relative phase retardation δ^′ of the compensator in the P -C -A configuration is described, which eliminates beam-deviation effects.

© 1973 Optical Society of America

Effects of component optical activity in data reduction and calibration of rotating-analyzer ellipsometers

D. E. Aspnes
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 64(6) 812-819 (1974)

Ellipsometry with Imperfect Components Including Incoherent Effects*

R. M. A. Azzam and N. M. Bashara
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 61(10) 1380-1391 (1971)

Unified Analysis of Ellipsometry Errors Due to Imperfect Components, Cell-Window Birefringence, and Incorrect Azimuth Angles*

R. M. A. Azzam and N. M. Bashara
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 61(5) 600-607 (1971)

Effects of detector nonlinearity on calibration and data reduction of rotating-analyzer ellipsometers

William Ralph Hunter
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 66(2) 94-97 (1976)

Analysis of systematic errors in rotating-analyzer ellipsometers*

R. M. A. Azzam and N. M. Bashara
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 64(11) 1459-1469 (1974)