Dual-comb spectroscopic ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a means of investigating optical and dielectric material responses. Conventional spectroscopic ellipsometry is subject to trade-offs between spectral accuracy, resolution, and measurement time. Polarization modulation has afforded poor performance because of its sensitivity to mechanical vibrational noise, thermal instability, and polarization-wavelength dependency. We combine spectroscopic ellipsometry with dual-comb spectroscopy, namely, dual-comb spectroscopic ellipsometry. Dual-comb spectroscopic ellipsometry (DCSE). DCSE directly and simultaneously obtains the ellipsometric parameters of the amplitude ratio and phase difference between s-polarized and p-polarized light signals with ultra-high spectral resolution and no polarization modulation, beyond the conventional limit. Ellipsometric evaluation without polarization modulation also enhances the stability and robustness of the system. In this study, we construct a polarization-modulation-free DCSE system with a spectral resolution of up to 1.2 × 10−5 nm throughout the spectral range of 1514–1595 nm and achieved an accuracy of 38.4 nm and a precision of 3.3 nm in the measurement of thin-film samples.

Supplementary Information : ncomms_8_610_s1.pdf
Supplementary Movies : ncomms_8_610_s2.mov, ncomms_8_610_s3.mov, ncomms_8_610_s4.mov, ncomms_8_610_s5.mov, ncomms_8_610_s6.mov, ncomms_8_610_s7.mov
Peer Review File : ncomms_8_610_s8.pdf

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