M-2000DI

The Woollam M-2000DI is an ellipsometer. The Woollam M-2000DI is a variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometer used for non-destructive optical characterization of thin films. The Woollam M-2000DI is intended for ex-situ characterization of patterned and unpatterned thin films.^[1][2]

A spectroscopic ellipsometer directs polarized light onto a sample and analyzes the polarization change after interaction with the film stack. A variable-angle instrument allows the operator to collect data at more than one incidence condition to improve model sensitivity. A mapping configuration moves the sample laterally so measurements can be taken at different positions across the surface.

Ellipsometers are metrology tools that are typically used outside the deposition or patterning chamber after a film has been formed on a substrate. Ellipsometers are commonly placed after growth, coating, oxidation, etch, or patterning steps when the process flow needs thickness or optical-property verification. Ellipsometers often provide feedback for process development, monitor wafers, and post-process characterization rather than direct material modification.

Ellipsometers are used wherever thin films must be characterized without sectioning the sample. Ellipsometers are commonly applied to dielectric, semiconductor, organic, and transparent coating studies. Ellipsometers are especially useful when the process engineer needs optical constants and film thickness from the same measurement workflow.