TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Rosu, Dana A1 - Ortel, Erik A1 - Kraehnert, R. A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan T1 - Measurement of Porous TiO2 Layers with spectroscopic ellipsometry – a multi-method study N2 - By means of an effective medium (EMA) based approach, it is possible to use spectroscopic ellipsometry to determine the mixing ratios between air and material in porous dielectrics and calculate a quantitative value of the porosity for these materials. As this method is model-based, it is very difficult to provide a quantitative measure for the accuracy of porosity values determined by this method. Valuable additional information can often be obtained by combining ellipsometry with other complementary methods. In the present study, the ellipsometry results were validated by Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) with the option of layer analysis (by the socalled “STRATAGem” approach), gravimetry, and electron microscopy. We analysed porous TiO2 thin layers synthesised by means of a template synthesis approach (evaporation induced self assembly). Ellipsometry measurements on porous samples are difficult to analyse due to the complexity of the models necessary. Often it is difficult to decide if the measured data contains enough information to successfully determine the target quantities (mixing ratio, dielectric function of the matrix material). One method to decrease the complexity of the fit and therefore use the measurement data most efficiently is a multi-sample analysis. In the present case, multi-sample analysis was used for determining the porosity factors of the individual layers while using one common set of dielectric function values for the matrix in all cases. While the results of the fit analysis in this case can be used to show the feasibility and also the limitations of the multi-method approach, the porosity values themselves show a promising agreement between the independent methods. It can therefore be concluded that determining porosity values with ellipsometry is in accordance to other methods to the level of accuracy provided by the complementary methodologies. T2 - International conference on spectroscopic ellipsometry (ICSE-7) CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 06.06.2016 KW - Spectroscopic Ellipsometry KW - Electron Microscopy KW - Multi-method Metrology KW - Porous Materials KW - Thin Films KW - Titanium Dioxide PY - 2016 AN - OPUS4-37202 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jensen, S. A. A1 - Rosu, Dana Maria A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Hansen, P.-E. T1 - Use of Rayleigh-Rice Theory for Analysis of Ellipsometry Data on Rough CIGS Films N2 - Ellipsometry is a useful tool for studying the optical properties of thin films such as photovoltaic devices. We employ Müller matrix ellipsometry to study the thin film photovoltaic material copper indium gallium selenide Cu(In,Ga) Se2 (CIGS), a commercially relevant material with high energy conversion efficiency. Confocal microscopy reveals an rms roughness of 68 nm, which greatly affects the ellipsometry data. Rayleigh-Rice theory is employed to account for the optical properties of the surface roughness in the ellipsometry experiment, and a library search method is used to compare Müller parameters calculated for various CIGS compositions, to the measured data. The Müller parameters calculated with the Rayleigh-Rice model are found to correspond well with the measured data, and a surface roughness of 37nm and a correlation length of 125nm are extracted. KW - Photovoltaics KW - Thin Films KW - Ellipsometry KW - Scattering Theory KW - Optical Wavefield KW - Simulation KW - Müller Polarimetry KW - Multidimensional Spectroscopy PY - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pssc.201700217 SN - 1862-6351 VL - 14 IS - 12 SP - 1700217, 1 EP - 5 PB - WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-43390 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Madkour, Sherif A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Unraveling the Dynamics of Nanoscopically Confined PVME in Thin Films of a Miscible PVME/PS Blend N2 - Broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) was employed to investigate the glassy dynamics of thin films (7−200 nm) of a poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME)/polystyrene (PS) blend (50:50 wt %). For BDS measurements, nanostructured capacitors (NSCs) were employed, where films are allowed a free surface. This method was applied for film thicknesses up to 36 nm. For thicker films, samples were prepared between crossed electrode capacitors (CECs). The relaxation spectra of the films showed multiple processes. The first process was assigned to the α-relaxation of a bulklike layer. For films measured by NSCs, the rates of α-relaxation were higher compared to those of the bulk blend. This behavior was related to the PVME-rich free surface layer at the polymer/air interface. The second process was observed for all films measured by CECs (process X) and the 36 nm film measured by NSCs (process X2). This process was assigned to fluctuations of constraint PVME segments by PS. Its activation energy was found to be thickness-dependent because of the evidenced thickness dependency of the compositional heterogeneity. Finally, a third process with an activated temperature dependence was observed for all films measured by NSCs (process X1). It resembled the molecular fluctuations in an adsorbed layer found for thin films of pure PVME, and thus, it is assigned accordingly. This process undergoes an extra confinement because of frozen adsorbed PS segments at the polymer/substrate interface. To our knowledge, this is the first example where confinement-induced changes were observed by BDS for blend thin films KW - Thin Films KW - Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy PY - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b10572 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 9 IS - 42 SP - 37289 EP - 37299 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-42652 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Schiek, Manuela A1 - dePréville, Sophie A1 - Hoffmann, Johannes T1 - Ellipsometry as a tool for electrical metrology - Referencing electrical properties of thin layers with TCO materials N2 - Ellipsometry is a highly valuable technology for bridging different measurement methods. As a fast, highly sensitive, and non-destructive optical technique with low environmental requirements, it is ideal for transporting measurement accuracy and for up-scaling measurements in the production environment. It can be used for highly precise determination of properties, material identity and correctness confirmation, as well as defect detection. Comparable, traceable, and accurate electrical measurements, especially at small scales are one of the biggest challenges in the development of the electrical and electronic devices of the future. In this project, we develop structured thin layer systems of the transparent conductive material indium tin oxide (ITO) to prove the concept of using these systems as standards for conductivity and permittivity. The layers are produced in a reactive magnetron sputtering process from raw ITO targets with additional oxidation achieved by oxygen injection. We present results of a study correlating the coating process conditions with the properties of the final layer material. We found that especially the temperature development during coating is of key importance and determines the layer properties to a large extent. We will discuss questions of homogeneity and reproducibility of the coating processes used. The finished layers undergo lithographic structuring and etching to produce patterns to serve as reference structures for scanning probe electrical measurements. TCOs have a large variety of applications. In this work we also study the usability of ITO for other purposes and investigate the stability of this material under application conditions. T2 - 12th Workshop Ellipsometry 2023 CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 18.09.2023 KW - Thin Films KW - Transparent Conductive Oxides KW - Ellipsometry KW - Electrical Properties KW - Nanoelectronics PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58410 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Omar, Hassan A1 - Gawek, Marcel A1 - Madkour, Sherif A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Determining thermal transitions in thin polymer layers by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry N2 - Thin polymer layers have enormous technical significance as polymer coatings on materials are very cost-effective for tailoring properties of surfaces. Apart from technical aspects in their use, thin polymer layers can be used to determine dimensional aspects in properties of material, such as confinement effects. In this work, we investigated several different polymer layer materials and determined their glass transition region by means of temperature-dependent spectroscopic ellipsometry. We have optimised our fitting procedure of the ellipsometric data produced in temperature ramp experiments. By this, we could measure the dependence of Tg on the layer thickness in a wide variety of thickness values, proving the existence of confinement effects in the investigated systems. We compare numerical methods for determining the location of the glass transition and discuss the possibilities of different analysis methods when determining thermal transitions. We also discuss the simultaneous existence of these transitions and annealing effects and the implications on the accuracy of the determined data. T2 - 12th Workshop Ellipsometry 2023 CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 18.09.2023 KW - Thin Films KW - Polymers KW - Ellipsometry KW - Themal Transitions PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58413 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Omar, Hassan A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Investigations of Ultrathin Polymer Films Supported on Inorganic Substrates N2 - Interactions between a polymer and a substrate interface play a vital role in understanding the improvement in thin film material properties as well as serving as a model for nanocomposites. For any non-repulsive polymer-substrate interactions, polymer segments form an irreversibly adsorbed layer and show a slowdown in the glassy dynamics and thus an increase in the thermal glass transition temperature compared to the bulk-like values. The growth kinetics of the adsorbed layer showed a deviation for both poly (bisphenol-A carbonate) (PBAC) and polysulfone (PSU), two bulky polymers containing a functional group (phenyl ring) in the backbone. T2 - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Online Poster Conference CY - Online meeting DA - 05.03.2024 KW - Adsorbed Layer KW - Thin Films KW - Atomic Force Microscopy KW - Ellipsometry PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59625 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ermilova, Elena A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Weise, Matthias A1 - Grundmann, Jana A1 - Bodermann, Bernd A1 - Klapetek, Petr A1 - Hoffmann, Johannes A1 - de Preville, Sophie T1 - Imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry for investigation of energy materials and materials for nano-electronics N2 - Ellipsometry is a very powerful tool used for accurate material investigation in a wide wavelength range. It is a non-destructive and fast method. Imaging ellipsometry as a combination of optical microscopy and ellipsometry enables spatially resolved measurements when determining the layer thickness and dielectric properties of thin layers. It is known for its high polarisation sensitivity and high contrast for the surface structures. In this contribution we show the application of the imaging ellipsometry for detection of defects in energy materials and quality validation of possible reference materials for nano-electronics. Defects in wide bandgap semiconductors, in homoepitaxial SiC and heteroepitaxial GaN layers on transparent SiC substrates, can be successfully detected and classified by means of imaging ellipsometry. Correlation of imaging ellipsometry results with results from complementary techniques such as white light interference microscopy as well as atomic force microscopy contribute to understanding of surface topography and defect formation mechanisms. We discuss the potential of different methods for analysing ellipsometric map data for monitoring the defect densities. Electric properties of materials at the nanoscale can be investigated by means of scanning probe microscopy methods such as scanning microwave microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy. However, development of new robust and easy-to-use calibration methods and calibration standards is essential to increase the traceability of these methods and allow their broad application in industry. We show how imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry can be used for development and monitoring of processing quality of patterned reference samples based on indium tin oxide (ITO) layer with different thickness and conductivity. T2 - 12th Workshop on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (WSE) CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 18.09.2023 KW - Ellipsometry KW - Thin Films KW - Transparent Conductive Oxides KW - Energy materials KW - White light interference microscopy KW - Nanoelectronics KW - Wide-bandgap semiconductors PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-59340 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -