Micropolarimeter and ellipsometer
AssigneeNanophotonics AG
InventorsMichael Abraham, Matthias Eberhardt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A micropolarimeter and ellipsometer for obtaining complete optical information of superficially illuminated specimens. A compact construction is designed to facilitate their use. To obtain the simultaneous surface measurement of all optical information from a specimen, the retarder of the micropolarimeter consists of a one-piece retarder array with at least one pixel group, in which the major axis orientations of the individual pixels are distributed over an angular range of 360°. This micropolarimeter can be integrated into the reflected light microscope of an ellipsometer. The result is a compact measurement unit.
Claims15
A micropolarimeter comprising:
- a non-rotating retarder, an analyzer disc located downstream from said retarder and a photo-detector matrix, said retarder comprising a one-piece retarder array with at least one pixel group that has at least three pixels, said pixels having major axis orientations which are distributed over an angular range of 360°, and said pixels being made of dielectric grid structures with grid intervals that are adapted to be less than the wavelength of light being used.
An ellipsometer comprising:
- a light source, a polarizer, a polarimeter and a reflected light microscope with a lens and an eyepiece, whereby the polarizer and polarimeter are integrated into the reflected light microscope, said polarimeter being a micropolarimeter comprising a non-rotating retarder, an analyzer disc located downstream from said retarder and a photo-detector matrix, whereby the retarder is a one-piece retarder array with at least one pixel group that has at least three pixels, said pixels having major axis orientations which are distributed over an angular range of 360°, said micropolarimeter being integrated into the focal plane of the eyepiece, and said pixels being made of dielectric grid structures with grid intervals that are adapted to be less than the wavelength of light being used.
An ellipsometer comprising:
- a light source, a polarizer and a polarimeter, said light source being a laser diode array with collimation lenses, said polarimeter being a micropolarimeter comprising a non-rotating retarder, an analyzer disc located downstream of said retarder, and a photo-detector matrix, whereby the retarder is a one-piece retarder array with at least one pixel group that has at least three pixels, said pixels having orientations which are distributed over an angular range of 360°, and said pixels being made of dielectric grid structures with grid intervals that are adapted to be less than the wavelength of light being used.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.