Application of Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Mueller Ellipsometry to Optical Characterization

TL;DR

This paper reviews established and new ellipsometry techniques, focusing on their theoretical foundations, experimental methods, and applications in characterizing optical properties of various materials, especially anisotropic and depolarizing samples.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of standard and Mueller ellipsometry, highlighting recent advances and practical applications for material characterization.

Findings

Mueller ellipsometry enables complete characterization of anisotropic samples.

Standard ellipsometry is effective for isotropic layered materials.

Recent advances improve accuracy and applicability of ellipsometry techniques.

Abstract

This article aims to provide a brief overview of both established and novel ellipsometry techniques, as well as their applications. Ellipsometry is an indirect optical technique in that information about the physical properties of a sample is obtained through modeling analysis. Standard ellipsometry is typically used to characterize optically isotropic bulk and/or layered materials. More advanced techniques like Mueller ellipsometry, also known as polarimetry in literature, are necessary for the complete and accurate characterization of anisotropic and/or depolarizing samples which occur in many instances, both in research and "real life" activities. In this article we cover three main areas of subject: basic theory of polarization, standard ellipsometry and Mueller ellipsometry. Section I is devoted to a short and pedagogical introduction of the formalisms used to describe light polarization. The following section is devoted to standard ellipsometry. The focus is on the experimental aspects, including both pros and cons of commercially available instruments. Section III is devoted to recent advances in Mueller ellipsometry. Applications examples are provided in sections II and III to illustrate how each technique works.