Characterization of weakly absorbing thin films by multiple linear regression analysis of absolute unwrapped phase in angle-resolved spectral reflectometry.

The simultaneous determination of t, n(λ), and κ(λ) of thin films can be a tough task for the high correlation of fit parameters. The strong assumptions about the type of dispersion relation are commonly used as a consequence to alleviate correlation concerns by reducing the free parameters before the nonlinear regression analysis. Here we present an angle-resolved spectral reflectometry for the simultaneous determination of weakly absorbing thin film parameters, where a reflectance interferogram is recorded in both angular and spectral domains in a single-shot measurement for the point of the sample being illuminated. The variations of the phase recovered from the interferogram as functions of t, n, and κ reveals that the unwrapped phase is monotonically related to t, n, and κ, thereby allowing the problem of correlation to be alleviated by multiple linear regression. After removing the 2π ambiguity of the unwrapped phase, the merit function based on the absolute unwrapped phase performs a 3D data cube with variables of t, n and κ at each wavelength. The unique solution of t, n, and κ can then be directly determined from the extremum of the 3D data cube at each wavelength with no need of dispersion relation. A sample of GaN thin film grown on a polished sapphire substrate is tested. The experimental data of t and [n(λ), κ(λ)] are confirmed by the scanning electron microscopy and the comparison with the results of other related works, respectively. The consistency of the results shows the proposed method provides a useful tool for the determination of the thickness and optical constants of weakly absorbing thin films.