title: Development of a spectroscopic Mueller matrix imaging ellipsometer for nanostructure metrology.
abstract: In this paper, we describe the development of a spectroscopic Mueller matrix imaging ellipsometer (MMIE), which combines the great power of Mueller matrix ellipsometry with the high spatial resolution of optical microscopy. A dual rotating-compensator configuration is adopted to collect the full 4 × 4 imaging Mueller matrix in a single measurement. The light wavelengths are scanned in the range of 400-700 nm by a monochromator. The instrument has measurement accuracy and precision better than 0.01 for all the Mueller matrix elements in both the whole image and the whole spectral range. The instrument was then applied for the measurement of nanostructures combined with an inverse diffraction problem solving technique. The experiment performed on a photoresist grating sample has demonstrated the great potential of MMIE for accurate grating reconstruction from spectral data collected by a single pixel of the camera and for efficient quantification of geometrical profile of the grating structure over a large area with pixel resolution. It is expected that MMIE will be a powerful tool for nanostructure metrology in future high-volume nanomanufacturing.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Xiuguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Weichao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Chuanwei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Shiyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu