Abstract
Performing reliable measurements in optical metrology, such as those needed in ellipsometry, requires a calibrated source and detector, or a well-characterized reference sample. We present a novel interferometric technique to perform reliable ellipsometric measurements. This technique relies on the use of a nonclassical optical source, namely, polarization-entangled twin photons generated by spontaneous parametric downconversion from a nonlinear crystal, in conjunction with a coincidence-detection scheme. Ellipsometric measurements acquired with this scheme are absolute, i.e., they require neither source nor detector calibration, nor do they require a reference.
© 2002 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Ayman F. Abouraddy, Kimani C. Toussaint, Alexander V. Sergienko, Bahaa E. A. Saleh, and Malvin C. Teich
Opt. Lett. 26(21) 1717-1719 (2001)
David J.L. Graham, A. Scott Parkins, and Lionel R. Watkins
Opt. Express 14(16) 7037-7045 (2006)
Ayman F. Abouraddy, Bahaa E. A. Saleh, Alexander V. Sergienko, and Malvin C. Teich
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 19(5) 1174-1184 (2002)