Far-infrared ellipsometer

Abstract

A far-infrared rotating-analyzer ellipsometer which uses a step-tunable, optically pumped gas laser as its light source is described herein. As polarizers novel metal grids with 10 000:1 polarization contrast were used. The instrument determines the complex dielectric function in the spectral range between 10 and 150 cm−1. A cryostat allows both reflection and transmission measurements from 10 to 330 K. Measurements of the birefringence of crystalline quartz, of both the carrier density and the scattering frequency of doped semiconductors, and of the low energy excitations of high-TC YBaCuO ceramics are presented herein.