CHARACTERIZATION OF SURFACES, THIN FILMS AND ION-IMPLANTED SILICON BY SPECTROSCOPIC ELLIPSOMETRY

A spectroscopic ellipsometer of the rotating analyzer configuration has been constructed. This instrument operates over the photon energy (eV) range of 2.0 - 4.5 eV. A computer program was developed to interpret the data acquired using the spectroscopic ellipsometer. With the aid of this program, the film detectability limit of the instrument was determined to be less than 1(ANGSTROM). A statistical analysis section was incorporated into the program that serves to limit the number of parameters used in the program.;A series of samples of single crystal Si were prepared using ion-implantation. Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements were performed on these samples. The implanted samples were ion-milled and cross-section transmission electron micrographs were produced. These micrographs were compared to the results of spectroscopic ellipsometry. The comparison showed excellent agreement. From this excellent agreement, the validity of the assumptions used in the spectroscopic ellipsometry instrumentation and the modelling process was established.;A series of non-crystalline Si films were characterized through the use of spectroscopic ellipsometry. The void fraction and microscopic roughness of these samples were determined through incorporation of effective medium approximations into the modelling program. These results were compared to scanning electron micrographs for the samples. Good qualitative agreement between the results of spectroscopic ellipsometry and the scanning electron micrographs was established.