Fast-scanning ellipsometry for thin film characterization

We present an ellipsometric measurement set up designed for fast surface mapping. The system consists of a HeNE laser, a linear polarizer, a recently developed grating polarimeter and a translation stage for moving the sample. The system allows the spatially resolved measurement of the ellipsometric angles (Delta) and (Psi) . For transparent single layer coating, refractive index and film thickness from the measured values can be calculated. For multilayer coatings where the determination of all the optical properties is not possible, information on the coating homogeneity can be gained.