A Practical Guide to Optical Metrology for Thin Films

Michael Quinten

Sep 2012 · Sold by John Wiley & Sons

About this ebook

A one-stop, concise guide on determining and measuring thin film thickness by optical methods.

This practical book covers the laws of electromagnetic radiation and interaction of light with matter, as well as the theory and practice of thickness measurement, and modern applications. In so doing, it shows the capabilities and opportunities of optical thickness determination and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of measurement devices along with their evaluation methods.

Following an introduction to the topic, Chapter 2 presents the basics of the propagation of light and other electromagnetic radiation in space and matter. The main topic of this book, the determination of the thickness of a layer in a layer stack by measuring the spectral reflectance or transmittance, is treated in the following three chapters. The color of thin layers is discussed in chapter 6. Finally, in chapter 7, the author discusses several industrial applications of the layer thickness measurement, including high-reflection and anti-reflection coatings, photolithographic structuring of semiconductors, silicon on insulator, transparent conductive films, oxides and polymers, thin film photovoltaics, and heavily doped silicon.

Aimed at industrial and academic researchers, engineers, developers and manufacturers involved in all areas of optical layer and thin optical film measurement and metrology, process control, real-time monitoring, and applications.

About the author

Dr. Michael Quinten works as Head of Research and Development Sensors at FRT GmbH in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. Having obtained his diploma degree and Ph. D. in physics (1989) at the University of Saarland, Saarbruecken, Germany, he joined the Technical University RWTH Aachen in 1990 to work as a physics fessor. He then spent four years at several universities in Graz (Austria), Chemnitz, Aachen, Saarbruecken and Bochum (Germany). During his academic career, he authored 50 scientific publications on optical properties of nanoparticles, nanoparticle materials, and aerosols. In 2001, he joined the ETA-Optik GmbH, Germany, where he first worked in research and development of integrated optics components, and later became a product manager in the Colour and Coatings Division. During this period, he became expert in optical layer thickness determination. In 2007, he moved to FRT GmbH where he is responsible for the optical sensor technology division. He is the author of Optical Properties of Nanoparticle Systems: Mie and Beyond, Hardcover, 502 pages, Publisher: Wiley-VCH; 1 edition (March 15, 2011), ISBN10: 9783527410439, ISBN-13: 978-3527410439.