Laser diagnostics of nanoscale dielectric films on transparent substrate by integrating differential reflectivity and ellipsometry

The effect of nanometer dielectric films on the differential reflection characteristics of linearly polarized light from non-absorbing materials is investigated in the long-wavelength approximation. The second-order formulas for changes in the reflectance of s- and p-polarized light caused by ultrathin layer are obtained. A detailed analysis of the influence of ultrathin film to the reflectivity of p-polarized light in the vicinity of the Brewster angle is carried out. The novel methods are developed for determining the thickness and refractive index of uniform (or the average values of refractive index of nonuniform) nanometer-scale films by differential reflectivity and ellipsometric measurements. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.