The Physics Master’s Project competition, run by the Department of Physics and Mathematics at Nottingham Trent University, allows final-year project students to achieve an outstanding MSci project and empowers the student through funding of £1,000. Thomas Howe, a final-year MSci Physics student at Nottingham Trent University was the winner of the Master’s Physics Competition 2022, with his project proposal based upon the use of infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry (IRSE) to determine the optical properties of metal oxide thin films. The project, supervised by Dr Nikolaos Kalfagiannis at Nottingham Trent University and in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Valencia, aimed to fabricate and tailor the properties of Tin-doped Indium Oxide (ITO) films for ultrafast all-optical switching.
To characterise the optical properties of ITO, and hence determine the optimal route to fabricating ITO for ultrafast all-optical switching, spectroscopic ellipsometry of the ITO films was to be carried out. This was completed using the J A Woollam Infrared Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometer (IR-VASE Mark II), which was acquired by Nottingham Trent University through Quantum Design UK and Ireland.
The IR-VASE Mark II allows the user to determine many optical properties such as the dielectric function, film thickness, and anisotropy all through a non-contact and non-destructive technique. The characterisation of thin films can be completed by Nottingham Trent University through a partnership between the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility and Quantum Design UK and Ireland.
Seeking to better understand the optical and electronic properties of materials or thin films for nanophotonic or electronic applications?
Analysis of the data produced via IRSE requires building an optical and geometric model to describe the structure and response of the film. For complicated films, such as ITO, this cannot be easily done mathematically. The CompleteEASE software by J A Woollam is designed to allow the user to determine the optical properties of complex materials within a user-friendly environment. The funding which was provided by the Master’s Physics Competition allowed Thomas to attend the CompleteEASE workshop 2022, which was run by Quantum Design UK, Nottingham Trent University, the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility, and J A Woollam.
The annual course, taught by experts in spectroscopic ellipsometry from J A Woollam and allows the user to build expertise in the analysis of ellipsometric data in the CompleteEASE environment. Specific topics which are taught on the course include: The analysis of transparent films, modelling of semi-absorbing and absorbing materials through a range of methods, analysis of thin absorbing films, multi-sample analysis, and dynamic data analysis.
Thomas’ attendance at the CompleteEASE course has allowed him to develop a wide range of expertise in the field of spectroscopic ellipsometry and has been applied in his final-year project to determine the optical properties of ITO. As part of this, Thomas has been able to present his work and provide his peers with an overview of spectroscopic ellipsometry and the analysis of such data, and the results of his project are currently being implemented in the fabrication of photonic devices for ultrafast all-optical switching.
To learn more about the J A Woollam ellipsometry range, please contact our Technical Director, Dr. Shayz Ikram by email or call (01372) 378822.
