Application of surface plasmon resonance for the investigation of ultrathin metal films

Abstract

We analyze potentialities of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) when investigating thin transition layers at the outer, as well as inner, boundaries of the high conductance metal film on a glass substrate. Using the objective function, one can determine, with high accuracy, more than three optical parameters of the SPR supporting two-layer metal film. The data obtained by our method for the Mn:Ag two-layer system are compared with those given by the traditional quartz microbalance method. A good agreement is found between the two sets of thickness and refractive index values for both layers.