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Multichannel Mueller Matrix Analysis of the Evolution of Surface Roughness on Different In-Plane Scales during Polycrystalline Film Processing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Chi Chen ,
Christoph Ross ,
C. R. Wronski  and
R. W. Collins
Chi Chen
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606
Christoph Ross
Affiliation:
Inst. of Photovoltaics, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich 52425, Germany
C. R. Wronski
Affiliation:
Dept. of Electrical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
R. W. Collins
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606
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Abstract

Optical analysis of polycrystalline semiconductors and transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) used in thin film photovoltaics is a considerable challenge due to surface roughness and nonuniformities that may exist over many orders of magnitude in the in-plane scale L, from tenths of nanometers to hundreds of microns. Here we describe the new optical technique of multichannel Mueller matrix ellipsometry, that enables one to extract the dielectric function (ε1, ε2) of such a film, as well as the time evolution of surface roughness layer thicknesses on (i) microscopic (L <<λ, whereλ is the probe wavelength), (ii) macroscopic (L λ), and (iii) “geometric optical” (L <<λ) scales, in an analysis of data collected during deposition or processing. We present as an example, analysis results from spectra collected during chemical etching of the TCO zinc oxide that leads to detectable surface roughness on all three scales. The optical results are in good agreement with direct measurements by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and profilometry.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 865: Symposium F – Thin-Film Compound Semiconductor Photovoltaics , 2005 , F1.1
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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