Optical properties of β-Sn films

Optical properties of white tin (beta-Sn) have been investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry in the photon-energy range between 0.6 and 6.5 eV at room temperature. The beta-Sn films are deposited by vacuum evaporation on Si(001) substrates. The structural properties of the films are evaluated by x-ray diffraction and ex situ atomic force microscopy. The measured epsilon(E) spectra reveal distinct structures at several interband critical points in the Brillouin zone of beta-Sn. These spectra are analyzed on the basis of a simplified model of the interband transitions, including the free-carrier absorption between the filled and empty electronic states. Dielectric-related optical constants, such as the complex refractive index, absorption coefficient, and normal-incidence reflectivity, of bulk beta-Sn films are also presented. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI:10.1063/1.3106528]