Assessment of non-uniform thin films using spectroscopic ellipsometry and imaging spectroscopic reflectometry

Standard variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, mapping spectroscopic ellipsometry with microspot and imaging spectroscopic reflectometry are applied to optical characterisation of a thin SiOxCyHz film considerably non-uniform in thickness and which is also suspected of non-uniformity also in the optical constants. It is shown that using the combination of these three optical methods, enables us to determine the spectral dependencies of the optical constants of the film together with parameters characterising the shape of thickness non-uniformity and fine map of local thickness. The mapping spectroscopic ellipsometry with microspot enables deciding whether the film is non-uniform in optical constants. For the thin film studied it is found that the non-uniformity in optical constants is under experimental accuracy. The consistency of results obtained using individual techniques is checked and the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques are discussed. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.