Micropolarimeter, microsensor system and method of characterizing thin films

摘要

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.