Novel Real Time Optics for Thin Film Materials Research

该研究项目旨在推进薄固体膜的新型光学探针的艺术和科学。 该项目的重点是分单分子层的分辨率，可以在真实的时间在薄膜生长和修改光谱探针。 这种真实的时间探针将为薄膜生长机制、固体及其界面的光学性质以及薄膜生长过程与所得性质之间的关系提供新的物理见解。 科学研究将侧重于以下三个主题：（一）薄膜中的相演化;（二）纳米级，微米级和宏观尺度结构的光学模型;和（三）薄膜中界面和各向异性的光学效应。 这些努力代表了长期研究计划的继续，从十多年前开发双参数多通道椭圆偏振仪开始，到最近开发的十六参数多通道Mueller矩阵光谱学达到高潮。 这项研究赋予本科生，研究生和博士后学者在凝聚态，材料和光学物理学必要的学术界或工业界的未来职位的跨学科技能。 该项目在向薄膜光伏、光学和耐磨涂层以及半导体计量仪器开发行业转移技术和熟练研究人员方面具有巨大潜力。该研究项目致力于开发薄膜及其相关的测量工具，以应用于科学和技术。 薄膜被应用到材料的表面上，以便以低成本提供功能，并用于从微电子到电能生产的许多技术中。 通过能够真实的时间确定膜厚度和其它性质的测量工具，即，在制造过程中是非侵入性的。 在这个项目中，这些工具将被开发和应用，以优化薄膜生长过程中使用的各种行业。 这些努力代表了十多年前开始的长期研究计划的继续，并提供了目前在学术界和工业界广泛使用的新工具和最佳工艺。 该研究项目将教育来自不同背景的本科生，研究生和博士后学者，他们将获得跨越材料研究多个学科的技能。 该项目将具有向工业界转让技术和熟练研究人员的巨大潜力，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.