Method and device for examining the physical properties of thin layers by means of polarised light

摘要

The invention relates to a method and a device for examining the physical properties of thin layers (9, 10, 11) by means of polarised light. The layer to be examined (9, 10, 11) is irradiated with light and the reflected light is deflected onto an imaging system (6). In order to be able to examine in particular ultra-thin layers in the region of a few Angström with a high information content and high contrast, it is proposed according to the invention to apply the layer (9, 10, 11) to be examined to a reference sample (8), e.g. a thin layer of silver, in which surface plasmons are excited as a result of irradiation by polarised light. A suitable device is made up of only few optical components. <IMAGE>