Spectroscopic ellipsometry as an in-situ monitoring tool for Bi2Se3 films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

In-operando spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) was used to measure the optical response of Bi2Se3 films grown on sapphire substrates in a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) reactor during cool-down from a growth temperature of 225 degrees C. A temperature dependent dielectric model was refined for the topological insulator Bi2Se3 by taking SE spectra at different temperatures and fitting the amplitude ratio and phase difference of orthogonally polarized light using Bi2Se3 films with varying thickness. In-operando SE demonstrated here enabled determining the dielectric function of substrate and growing film unobscured by surface or interface reactions. Its sensitivity to sample temperature and film thickness variations allows determining growth temperature, absolute film thickness, and growth rate in real time, rendering it a reliable and universal approach for a direct comparison of growth conditions between different growth campaigns, thus offering the potential to improve reproducibility of the growth conditions for Bi2Se3 based films and heterostructures.

Automated summary

In-operando spectroscopic ellipsometry was utilized to study the optical properties of Bi2Se3 films grown on sapphire substrates in a MBE reactor. A refined dielectric model for Bi2Se3 was developed by analyzing SE spectra at different temperatures, enabling real-time monitoring of growth conditions and film thickness. This technique offers a reliable and universal approach for comparing growth conditions and improving reproducibility for Bi2Se3 based films and heterostructures.