The dual rotating-compensator Mueller matrix ellipsometer based on the optical configuration PC1r(ω1)SC2r(ω2)A has been developed recently with many applications such as characterization of thin film growth and surface modification. In this paper, the optimal configuration of this ellipsometer is performed by minimizing the condition number of the systematic data reduction matrix. We present the optimal orientation angles of the polarizer (P) and the analyzer (A), as well as the optimal number of sampling points and the optimal retardance of both compensators, and find that these optimal configurations at different frequency ratios of the two compensators (C1r and C2r) yield almost equal performance. Simulations conducted on this ellipsometer with different parameters have demonstrated that the optimal configuration improves the measurement accuracy.

Date Published: 31 January 2013
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 8759, Eighth International Symposium on Precision Engineering Measurement and Instrumentation, 875925 (31 January 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2014578

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8759:
Eighth International Symposium on Precision Engineering Measurement and Instrumentation
Jie Lin, Editor(s)