Lateral ellipsometry resolution for imaging ellipsometry measurement

摘要

As an approach to integrate both single-point measurement ellipsometry and optical microscopy, imaging ellipsometry possesses the capability of measurement of distributions of optical constants and/or thickness of sample surfaces. Considering the exact distinguishment of neighboring surfaces from imaging ellipsometry measurement, in this note, we propose to use a new criterion for the lateral ellipsometry resolution: about 2.23 fold of the Abbe diffraction limit for a microscope. This criterion will be helpful for the estimation of the applicability of an imaging ellipsometer into the evaluation of micro-patterned surfaces.