Micropolarimeter, microsensor system and method of characterizing thin films

US5502567A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Peter Pokrowsky · Mainz, DE
• Eckehard Kiefer · Grafenau, DE
• Michael Abraham · Boulder, US
• Bernd Stenkamp · Stuttgart, DE
• Wolfgang Ehrfeld · Karlsruhe, DE
• Thomas Zetterer · Bad Kreuznach, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 28, 1994
• Grant date: Mar 26, 1996
• Expiry date: Jun 28, 2014

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N21/211
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A micropolarimeter comprises an analyzer (1) and a detector (3), which is typically a photodetector array. The detector has a circular configuration of a number N of sectors. Analyzer (1) and detector (3) form a unit with the analyzer assigning different polarization values to the sectors. Analyzer and the detector contain no moving parts. Three different embodiments are proposed for the analyzer: a glass cone, covered with a polarizing thin film stack, a metal grid polarizing array, and an array of polarizing waveguides. The micropolarimeter (14) is used preferably in a microellipsometer system which can serve as a tool for film diagnostics, especially optical characterization of thin films.