<title>Recent in-situ studies of the evolution of surfaces and interfaces of thin films by spectroscopic phase-modulated ellipsometry</title>

Abstract

Application of spectroscopic phase modulated ellipsometry (PME) to study both ultrafast and slow processes of interaction of silane (SiH4) with thin film Pd, and to the investigation of the growth kinetics of a-Si:H films deposited by rf glow discharge under UV light irradiation are presented. As compared to other ellipsometric techniques like rotating analyzer ellipsometry (RAE), the phase modulation uses a high frequency of about 50 kHz provided by a photoelastic modulator. Thus, PME allows one to reach 1 - 5 ms time resolution which permits faster real-time measurements than RAE. This remarkable feature of PME makes it particularly suitable for in-situ applications. Changes of optical properties of Pd thin films exposed to SiH4 at different fluxes are monitored by in situ single wavelength ellipsometry in the case of high fluxes which lead to ultrafast process and by in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry at small fluxes and slow kinetics. The study reveals a complicated character of the process which depends on initial flux of silane and leads to formation of Pd disilicide, Pd hydride, and an intrinsic porosity. A qualitative model of the process is proposed.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.