Simultaneous determination of thickness and optical constants of polymer thin film by analyzing transmittance

We present a novel method for determining both the thickness and the optical constants of a weakly absorbing thin film upon a nearly transparent substrate through analysis of transmittance measured at various incident angles with coherent light. We demonstrate this method for a polymer thin film. The refractive indices and extinction coefficients of poly(DRI-anthranilic acid) at wavelengths of 1064, 632.8, and 532 nm were determined for the first time to our knowledge. We also confirmed the validity of our method with a polystyrene thin film whose optical constant was known. It was found that a thickness of a few hundred nanometers can easily be measured and that this method offers simplicity as well as the capability of in situ measurement. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.