Spectroscopic Ellipsometer

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: Funded in 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 530008779

The Chair of Experimental Physics IV within the Institute of Physics at the University of Augsburg performs fundamental as well as applied research in the field of thin-film systems. These include, inter alia, organic semiconductors (e.g. organic light-emitting diodes for display applications), magnetic thin films for data storage, complex oxides for thermos-electrics or photo-electrochemical cells as well as diamond layers. Therein spectral ellipsometry plays a central role for their optical characterisation. It probes changes of the polarization state of light as it penetrates a (multi-)layer stack of the materials under study and yields important information on layer thicknesses and their complex refractive indices. Furthermore, it gives information on optical anisotropy of the materials, which needs to be captured by both the measurement instrumentation as well as the used analysis software. We apply for a new spectroscopic ellipsometer to substitute a 20-year old instrument, which is no longer state of the art. Ellipsometry is of fundamental importance for our group to perform optical analyses of a variety of thin films systems, which are in the focus of our research. Specifically, within this proposal we plan to address organic semiconducting thin films as well as complex oxides. The availability of this technique is of strategic importance for the acquisition and implementation of third-party funded research projects, as detailed in the proposal.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Spektroskopisches Ellipsometer
• Instrumentation Group: 5360 Meßgeräte für gestreutes und reflektiertes Licht, optische Oberflächen-Prüfgeräte
• Applicant Institution: Universität Augsburg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Brütting