Novel Real Time Optics for Thin Film Materials Research

本研究项目旨在促进新型固体薄膜光学探头的艺术性和科学性。该项目的重点是亚单层分辨率的光谱探测器，可以在薄膜生长和修改过程中实时执行。这种实时探测器将为薄膜生长的机制、固体及其界面的光学性质以及薄膜生长过程和所产生的性质之间的关系提供新的物理见解。科学研究将集中在以下三个主题上：(I)薄膜中的相演变；(Ii)纳米、微观和宏观结构的光学模型；以及(Iii)薄膜中界面和各向异性的光学效应。这些努力代表着长期研究计划的继续，从十多年前双参数多通道椭偏测量仪的开发开始，到最近16参数多通道Mueller矩阵光谱学的开发达到顶峰。这项研究赋予本科生、研究生和博士后学者在凝聚态、材料和光学物理方面的跨学科技能，这些技能是未来学术或工业职位所必需的。该项目具有巨大的潜力，可以将技术和熟练的研究人员转移到开发薄膜光伏、光学和耐磨涂层以及半导体计量仪器的行业。这项研究项目致力于开发薄膜及其相关的测量工具，用于科学和技术应用。薄膜被应用在材料的表面，以提供低成本的功能，并被用于从微电子到电能生产的许多技术中。测量工具可以在制造过程中实时、非侵入性地确定薄膜厚度和其他特性，从而加快了用于这种先进应用的薄膜的研究和开发。在这个项目中，这些工具将被开发和应用于优化各种行业使用的薄膜生长工艺。这些努力代表着一项十多年前开始的长期研究计划的继续，该计划提供了新的工具和优化的流程，目前正在学术界和工业界广泛使用。这个研究项目将培养来自不同背景的本科生、研究生和博士后学者，他们将获得材料研究中多个学科的技能。该项目将具有将技术和熟练的研究人员转移到工业中的巨大潜力，从而加强国家的科学和技术基础设施。开发光学、机械和耐磨涂层、薄膜太阳能电池和半导体分析设备的行业将受益。

This research project seeks to advance the art and science of novel optical probes of thin solid films. The project -emphasis is on spectroscopic probes with sub-monolayer resolution that can be performed in real time during film growth and modification. Such real time probes will lend new physical insights into the mechanisms of film growth, the optical properties of solids and their interfaces, and the relationships between film growth processes and the resulting properties. The scientific studies will focus on the following three themes: (i) phase evolution in thin films; (ii) optical models of nanoscale, microscale, and macroscale structures; and (iii) the optical effects of interfaces and anisotropy in thin films. Such efforts represent the continuation of a long-term research program, starting with the development of two-parameter multichannel ellipsometry over a decade ago and culminating with the recent development of sixteen-parameter multichannel Mueller matrix spectroscopy. This research endows undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral scholars with interdisciplinary skills in condensed matter, materials, and optical physics necessary for future positions in academia or industry. The project has great potential for transfer of technology and skilled researchers to industries developing thin film photovoltaics, optical and wear-resistant coatings, and semiconductor metrological instruments. This research project is devoted to the development of thin films and their associated measurement tools for applications in science and technology. Thin films are applied onto the surfaces of materials in order to provide functionality at low cost, and are used in numerous technologies from microelectronics to electrical energy production. Research and development on thin films for such advanced applications are expedited by measurement tools that can determine the film thickness and other properties in real time, i.e., non-invasively during the fabrication process. In this project, such tools will be developed and applied to optimize thin film growth processes used by a variety of industries. These efforts represent the continuation of a long-term research program that began more than a decade ago and has provided new tools and optimum processes now being used extensively in academia and industry. This research project will educate undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral scholars from diverse backgrounds who will acquire skills spanning a number of disciplines in materials research. The project will have great potential for transfer of technology and skilled researchers to industry, thereby enhancing the nation's science and technology infrastructure. Industries developing optical, mechanical and wear-resistant coatings, thin film solar cells, and semiconductor analysis equipment will benefit.