Polarized light scattering by microroughness and small defects in dielectric layers

The polarization of light scattered by the surface of a material contains information that can be used to identify the sources of that scatter. Theories for light scattering from interfacial roughness of a dielectric layer and from defects in that dielectric layer are reviewed. Methods for calculating the Mueller matrix or the Stokes vector for scatter from multiple sources and for decomposing a Stokes vector into contributions from two nondepolarizing scattering sources are derived. The theories are evaluated for a specific sample and geometry. Results show that some incident polarizations are more effective than others at discriminating among scattering sources, with s-polarized light being least effective. The polarization of light scattered from interfacial roughness depends upon the relative roughness of the two interfaces and the degree of correlation between the two interfaces. The scattering from defects in the film depends on the depth of the defect and differs from that from any one of the cases of interfacial roughness. The scattering from defects randomly distributed in the film and for small dielectric permittivity variations in the film is also calculated. Experimental results are presented for a 52-nm SiO2 film thermally grown on microrough silicon.     

Attenuation in thin film optical waveguides due to roughness-induced mode coupling

Marcuse's mode-coupling theory for symmetrical planar optical waveguides was extended to cover the asymmetrical case. Computer programs were written to study the particular case of coupling between the zeroth order guided transverse electric (TE) mode and the radiation modes as a function of interface roughness.It is shown that a simple expression proposed by Tien gives results which correspond to the most pessimistic results obtained by the mode-coupling theory. R.f. sputtered thin film planar optical waveguides were prepared. The zeroth order TE guided mode having a vacuum wavelength of 0.6328 μm was excited in the thin film by means of a prism coupler. The attenuation of this mode was inferred from the reduction in intensity of the radiation modes which was measured with a photomultiplier. A Talystep was used to obtain the film thickness and also profiles of the roughness of the film-substrate and film-superstrate interfaces. The roughness profiles were computer-processed to determine the r.m.s. amplitude and the correlation length of the interface roughness. The refractive index was determined from the film thickness and the synchronous coupling angle using the reduced SYNCANG method. These data were used to compute the attenuation of the zeroth order guided TE mode from the mode-coupling theory. The correlation coefficient between the theoretical and experimental results was 0.96.     

Hemispherical and diffuse reflectance and transmittance of a slightly inhomogeneous film bounded by rough, unparallel interfaces

The optical reflectance and transmittance of an ideal thin film are calculated in a well-known way. As far as a non-ideal thin film is concerned - i.e., a slightly inhomogeneous thin film bounded by rough, unparallel interfaces - three categories of spectral coefficients can be defined, i.e.: specular reflectance and direct transmittance (light intensity flux along the optical axis), hemispherical reflectance and transmittance (light intensity flux integrated over the solid half angle π), and diffuse reflectance and transmittance (light intensity flux scattered around the optical axis) coefficients. In this paper a model recently introduced for the specular and direct coefficients is generalized to calculate also the hemispherical and diffuse coefficients of a non-ideal film.     

Polarizationally Non-sensitive Pseudo-holographic Computer Reconstruction of Random Rough Surface

Abstract

The function, describing a profile of a random rough surface (RRS) is expanded in a Fourier series, i.e. the surface is considered as a composition of sinusoidal gratings. The total diffracted optical field from this RRS is a sum of the fields due to all harmonic gratings, since Kirchhoff's condition for ‘locally flat surface’ is realized for each harmonic grating at a given light wavelength and at an appropriate choice of the basic grating period. The registered s and p components of the diffracted (+1 diffraction orders of each harmonic gratings), incident and mixed optic fields are separated with an optical analyser. These fields are experimentally measured and from these values the phase and the amplitude of each grating are determined. The profile of the surface is reconstructed for s and p polarization of the light scattered field, when the electric vector of the incident light concludes an arbitrary angle with the incidence plane. The mean roughness is determined in both cases. It is shown, that both reconstructions of the profile and the determination of the mean roughness are not dependent on the polarization of the incident light. The separation of the s and p components is of great importance at the two-dimensional reconstruction, when independent of incident light polarization (s or p), the scattered optical field is always depolarized. In this case the profile of the two-dimensional surface can be easily reconstructed with s or p component of the mixing and diffracted fields.     

Effect of the shapes of nanostructures on the light absorption in organic thin films

We theoretically investigate the enhancement of optical absorption in organic thin films by embedding the periodic metallic nanostructures (NSs) inside the thin films. For the case study, one of the organic solar cell materials copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) has been used. Finite Different Time Domain technique has been used to illustrate the role of the several different shapes of the metallic NSs. It has been found that the NSs can result in broadband optical absorption enhancement. A study on the position of the metallic particles in the organic thin film and the effect of particle dimension on absorption has also been performed. A significant enhancement in the absorption in the wavelength range 350–550?nm has been observed. Furthermore, the investigation has been performed on the effect of the light source incident angle and polarization direction on the absorption in the organic thin films. The best incident angle is found at 75°.     

Measurement of the refractive index and thickness of a transparent film from the shift of the interference pattern due to the sample rotation

A method is described for the simultaneous measurement of the refractive index and thickness of a transparent film. The method is based on the rotational shift of the interference pattern caused by the change of the light incidence angle. The refractive index is evaluated without any prior information about film thickness or about the substrate and its refractive index. In addition, the roughness of the interfaces and/or the presence of an unidentified thin layer are not important. In two experimental examples, the refractive index and thickness are measured for a GaN thin film and a cling-film.     

新型工艺制备ZnO薄膜的结构与形貌研究

采用了一种新型工艺制备ZnO薄膜。新工艺采用二步法,首先在N型Si(100)衬底上用离子束沉积溅射一层金属Zn膜,然后通过热氧化金属Zn膜制备ZnO薄膜。通过X射线衍射、原子力显微镜对不同制备工艺下的ZnO薄膜进行结构与形貌的分析比较。研究表明,Zn膜的离子束溅射沉积时间、热氧化时间和辅助枪的离子束对热氧化后的ZnO薄膜再轰击处理对ZnO薄膜的结构与形貌都会产生影响。     

Real time spectroscopic ellipsometry of Ag/ZnO and Al/ZnO interfaces for back-reflectors in thin film Si:H photovoltaics

Real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) has been applied to analyze the optical characteristics of Ag/ZnO and Al/ZnO interfaces used in back-reflector (BR) structures for thin film silicon photovoltaics. The structures explored here are relevant to the substrate/BR/Si:H(n-i-p) solar cell configuration and consist of opaque Ag or Al films having controllable thicknesses of microscopic surface roughness, followed by a ZnO layer up to ~ 3000 Å thick. The thicknesses of the final surface roughness layers on both Ag and Al have been varied by adjusting magnetron sputtering conditions in order to study the effects of metal film roughness on interface formation and interface optical properties. The primary interface loss mechanisms in reflection are found to be dissipation via absorption through localized plasmon modes for Ag/ZnO and through intraband and interband transitions intrinsic to metallic Al for Al/ZnO.     

Phase shifts in frustrated total internal reflection and optical tunneling by an embedded low-index thin film

Simple and explicit expressions for the phase shifts that p- and s-polarized light experience in frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) and optical tunneling by an embedded low-index thin film are obtained. The differential phase shifts in reflection and transmission deltar, deltat are found to be identical, and the associated ellipsometric parameters psir, psit are governed by a simple relation, independent of film thickness. When the Fresnel interface reflection phase shifts for the p and s polarizations or their average are quarter-wave, the corresponding overall reflection phase shifts introduced by the embedded layer are also quarter-wave for all values of film thickness. In the limit of zero film thickness (i.e., for an ultrathin embedded layer), the reflection phase shifts are also quarter-wave independent of polarization (p or s) or angle of incidence (except at grazing incidence). Finally, variable-angle FTIR ellipsometry is shown to be a sensitive technique for measuring the thickness of thin uniform air gaps between transparent bulk media.     

Resonance reflection of acoustic waves in piezoelectric bi-crystalline structures

The paper studies the bulk wave reflection from internal interfaces in piezoelectric media. The interfaces of two types have been considered. Infinitesimally thin metallic layer inserted into homogeneous piezoelectric crystal of arbitrary symmetry. Rigidly bonded crystals whose piezoelectric coefficients differ by sign but the other material constants are identical. Analytic expressions for the coefficients of mode conversion have been derived. An analysis has been carried out of specific singularities arising when the angle of incidence is such that the resonance excitation of leaky interface acoustic waves occurs. The conditions for the resonance total reflection have been established. The computations performed for lithium niobate (LiNbO3) illustrate general conclusions.     

Quarter-wave layers with 50% reflectance for obliquely incident unpolarized light

The conditions under which light interference in a transparent quarter-wave layer of refractive index n1 on a transparent substrate of refractive index n2 leads to 50% reflectance for incident unpolarized light at an angle phi are determined. Two distinct solution branches are obtained that correspond to light reflection above and below the polarizing angle, phi(p), of zero reflection for p polarization. The real p and s amplitude reflection coefficients have the same (negative) sign for the solution branch phi>phi(p) and have opposite signs for the solution branch phior=(square root 2+1)square root n2. A monochromatic design that uses a high-index TiO2 thin film on a low-index MgF2 substrate at 488 nm wavelength is presented as an example.     

Roughness of glancing angle deposited titanium thin films: an experimental and computational study

The characterization of roughness at the nanoscale by the means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) was performed on high aspect ratio glancing angle deposited titanium thin films. With the use of scanning electron microscopy as well as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, it was shown that the AFM measurements gave rise to incorrect roughness values for the films consisting of the highest aspect ratio structures. By correcting for this experimental artefact, the difference between the saturated roughness value of a film grown with conventional physical vapour deposition and films grown with a glancing angle of deposition was shown to behave as a power law function of the deposition angle, with a saturated roughness exponent of κ?=?7.1?±?0.2. This power law scaling was confirmed by three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations of glancing angle deposition, where the saturated roughness exponent was calculated to κ?=?6.7?±?0.4.     

Polarization of holographic grating diffraction. I. General theory

The full polarization property of volume holographic grating diffraction is investigated theoretically. With a simple volume grating model, the diffracted fields and Mueller matrices are first derived from Maxwell's equations by using the Green's function algorithms. The formalism is derived for the general case that the diffraction beam and the grating wave vector are not in the plane of incidence, where s waves and p waves are not decoupled. The derived photon-momentum relations determine the Bragg angle selectivity. The parameters of diffraction strength related to the hologram-writing process and material are defined and are not necessarily small in general. The diffracted-beam profiles are analytically calculated by using the known grating shape function. This theory has provided a fundamental understanding of the polarization phenomena of a real holographic diffraction grating device. The derived algorithm would provide a simulation-analysis tool for the engineering design of real holographic beam combiner/splitter devices.     

Surface morphology,tribological properties and in vitro biocompatibility of nanostructured zirconia thin films

Deposition of nanostructured and low-wear zirconia (ZrO₂) thin films on the metallic component of a total joint implant is envisaged to reduce wear of the soft ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) counterpart. In this work, morphological surface features, wear resistance and in vitro-biocompatibility of zirconia thin films deposited by the novel Pulsed Plasma Deposition (PPD) method have been investigated. Film thickness, roughness and wettability were found to be strongly dependent on deposition gas pressure. Interestingly, wear rate of UHMWPE disks coupled to zirconia-coated titanium spheres was only poorly correlated to the contact angle values, while film roughness and thickness seemed not to affect it. Furthermore, wear of UHMWPE, when coupled with zirconia coated-titanium spheres, significantly decreased with respect to uncoated spheres under dry or NaCl-lubricated conditions; besides, when using bovine serum, similar results were obtained for coated and uncoated spheres. Finally, suitable mesenchymal stem and osteoblast cells adhesion, proliferation and viability were observed, suggesting good biocompatibility of the nanostructured zirconia films. Taken together, the results shown in this work indicate that zirconia thin films deposited by the PPD method deserve further investigations as low-wear materials for biomedical applications such as total joint replacement.     

Measurements and predictions of light scattering by clear coatings

Comparisons are made between calculated and measured angle-resolved light-scattering distributions from clear dielectric isotropic epoxy coatings over a range of rms roughness conditions, resulting in strongly specular scattering to diffuse scattering characteristics. Calculated distributions are derived from topography measurements performed with interferometric microscopes. Two methods of calculation are used. One determines the intensity of scattered light waves with a phase integral in the Kirchhoff approximation. The other is based on the reflection of light rays by locally flat surfaces. The angle-resolved scattering distributions for the coatings are measured with the spectral trifunction automated reference reflectometer (STARR) developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Comparisons between measured and calculated results are shown for three surfaces with rms roughness values of approximately 3, 150, and 800 nm for an angle of incidence of 20 degrees .     

Near-field scattered by a single nanoslit in a metal film

Using a scanning near-field optical microscope, we visualize, in three dimensions, the electromagnetic field distribution near an isolated slit aperture in a thin gold film. At the metal-air interface and for a TM incident polarization, we confirm some recently observed results and show that the slit generates two kinds of surface waves: a slowly decaying surface plasmon polariton and a quasi-cylindrical wave that decreases more rapidly when moving away from the slit. These waves are not generated for a TE incident polarization. In a noncontact mode, we also observe how the transmitted light diverges in free space. At a small distance from the slit (< 2 microm), we find that the emerging light spreads in all directions for TM, forming an electromagnetic cloud, whereas it is concentrated above the slit for TE, forming a more directive light jet. The experimental images are in good agreement with the numerical simulations.     

Satellite peaks in the scattering of p-polarized light from a randomly rough film on a perfectly conducting substrate

Abstract

The diffuse scattering of p-polarized light from a one-dimensional, randomly rough dielectric film deposited on a planar, perfectly conducting surface is studied by means of small-amplitude perturbation theory. The dielectric constant ε_d and the thickness d of the dielectric film are chosen in such a way that in the absence of roughness the scattering system supports N (≥ 2) guided modes whose wavenumbers are q ₁ (ω), …,q _N(ω) at the frequency ω of the light incident at an angle θ_o. We investigate the occurrence of satellite peaks, in addition to the enhanced back-scattering peak, in the angular distribution of the intensity of the diffusely scattered light, at angles θ_s(n, m) given by sin θ_s(n, m)= ? sin θ₀± (c/ω) [Q_n(ω) ? q_m(ω)] for n, m=1, …, N(n ≠ m). These satellite peaks are multiple-scattering effects due to degenerate timereversal symmetry.     

Au/Si3N4体系电迁移特性的ADXPS研究

运用变角Ｘ射线光电子谱和原子力显微镜技术对沉积于Ｓｉ３Ｎ４衬底表面上的纳米级Ａｕ薄膜的电迁移特性进行了实验研究。结果表明：在电场作用下,薄膜表面的微观结构发生了变化,Ａｕ的晶粒趋向细化,膜层趋于均匀,表面粗糙度降低;电迁移过程中 Ａｕ与衬底 Ｓｉ３Ｎ４发生了界面化学反应,生成了 Ａｕ的硅化物ＡｕＳｉｘ。     

Principal angles and principal azimuths of frustrated total internal reflection and optical tunneling by an embedded low-index thin film

The condition for obtaining a differential (or ellipsometric) quarter-wave retardation when p- and s-polarized light of wavelength λ experience frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) and optical tunneling at angles of incidence ? ≥ the critical angle by a transparent thin film (medium 1) of low refractive index n1 and uniform thickness d, which is embedded in a transparent bulk medium 0 of high refractive index n0 takes the simple form: -tanh2 x = tan δp tan δs, in which x = 2πn1(d/λ)(N2sin2? - 1)(1/2), N = n0/n1, and δp, δs are 01 interface Fresnel reflection phase shifts for the p and s polarizations. From this condition, the ranges of the principal angle and normalized film thickness d/λ are obtained explicitly. At a given principal angle, the associated principal azimuths ψr, ψt in reflection and transmission are determined by tan2ψr = -sin 2δs/sin 2δp and tan2ψt = -tan δp/tan δs, respectively. At a unique principal angle ?e given by sin2?e = 2/(N2 + 1), ψr = ψt = 45° and linear-to-circular polarization conversion is achieved upon FTIR and optical tunneling simultaneously. The intensity transmittances of p- and s-polarized light at any principal angle are given by τp = tan δp/tan (δp - δs) and τs = -tan δs/tan (δp - δs), respectively. The efficiency of linear-to-circular polarization conversion in optical tunneling is maximum at ?e.     

Optical thin-film linear polarization selector fabricated by oblique angle deposition

A linear polarization selector was made from a three-section sculptured thin film deposited using an oblique angle deposition technique. In this device, the circular Bragg reflector with a left-handed helical structure was sandwiched in between two quarter-wave plates with opposite in-plane birefringence. Within the Bragg regime, the normal incident S-polarized light on this device was reflected, whereas the incident P-polarized light was transmitted through it. The microstructure of the linear polarization selector was also examined by scanning electron microscopy.