Thin film thickness measurement: A comparison of various techniques☆

Abstract The relative merits of some techniques for measuring the thickness of thin films are discussed. The techniques chosen for this comparison are widely used in thin film characterization and are as follows: stylus profilometry, interferometry, ellipsometry, spectrophotometric measurements and X-ray microanalysis. The comparison is performed for areas where more than one technique can be used. Suggestions are made regarding appropriate sample preparation and instrument operation to ensure that the best results are obtained for each technique.