Abstract

The accurate nondestructive and real-time determination of the critical dimensions of oxide nanofilms on periodic nanostructures has potential applications in nanofabrication techniques. Mueller ellipsometry is fast, accurate, nondestructive, and can be used in the ambient air. This study used the elements of a Mueller matrix of specular reflection, which is based on a Mueller ellipsometry method, to evaluate the thickness of an oxide nanofilm on an aluminum grating surface. By using non-traditional rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA), we decomposed the Mueller matrix to obtain the relationship between the evaluated polarization properties of reflected light and the dimensions of oxide nanofilms on aluminum grating surfaces. We also quantitatively analyzed the Mueller matrix elements’ variation due to the thicknesses of top, sidewall, and bottom oxides. We consider these oxide films are naturally formed and of nonuniform thickness on grating structures. The results show that the elements of Mueller matrix shift with the increasing of the uniform thickness of oxide at a fixed wavelength. Moreover, as oxide nanofilms on grating structures are nonuniform, the impact of the thickness of side wall oxide on the Mueller matrix elements is more obvious than that of top and bottom oxides at the relative larger incidence wavelength range. The finding of this work may facilitate the nondestructive and real-time measurement of the thickness of oxide nanofilms on metal gratings where the metal is easily oxidized.

© 2016 The Author(s)

Accurate characterization of nanoimprinted resist patterns using Mueller matrix ellipsometry

Xiuguo Chen, Shiyuan Liu, Chuanwei Zhang, Hao Jiang, Zhichao Ma, Tangyou Sun, and Zhimou Xu
Opt. Express 22(12) 15165-15177 (2014)

Polarization of specular reflection and near-specular scattering by a rough surface

Soe-Mie F. Nee
Appl. Opt. 35(19) 3570-3582 (1996)

Mueller-matrix ellipsometry using the division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter: a study of depolarization effects

Shankar Krishnan and Paul C. Nordine
Appl. Opt. 33(19) 4184-4192 (1994)

Spectroscopic Mueller matrix ellipsometry of a gap surface plasmon array at conical incidences

Per Magnus Walmsness, Nathan Hale, and Morten Kildemo
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 38(9) 2551-2561 (2021)

Jones and Mueller matrices for specular reflection from a chiral medium: determination of the basic chiral parameters using the elements of the Mueller matrix and experimental configurations to measure the basic chiral parameters

Elena Georgieva
Appl. Opt. 30(34) 5081-5085 (1991)