Rotating-compensator multichannel ellipsometry for characterization of the evolution of nonuniformities in diamond thin-film growth

Abstract

A multichannel spectroscopic ellipsometer based on the rotating-compensator principle has been applied to obtain the evolution of spectra (1.5–4.0 eV) in the normalized Stokes vector of the light beam reflected from the surface of a nanocrystalline diamond film during growth. Spectra in the ellipsometry angles (ψ, Δ) provide the time evolution of the microstructure and optical properties of the film in thin layers, whereas the spectra in the degree of polarization provide the time evolution of nonuniformities in the growth process attributed to light scattering by diamond nuclei in the initial stage of growth and to thickness gradients over the probed area in thicker layers.