Method of Spectral Ellipsometric Evaluation of the Phase Composition of Multilayer Films and Metal-Oxide Structures in the Process of their Growth

We develop and test a spectral ellipsometric method of nondestructive testing of the phase compositions of multilayer films and metal-oxide structures in the course of their growth on the surfaces of metals and alloys. The method is based on the preliminary thermodynamic and spectral analyses of the phase compositions of inhomogeneous surface oxides. The permanent monitoring of the spectra of ellipsometric parameters makes it possible to trace the distribution of phase composition of nanosized metal-oxide structures over the volume of inhomogeneous surface oxide (film) in the process of its growth. The proposed spectral-ellipsometric method can be useful for the nondestructive testing and, especially, for the in-situ automated investigations with subsequent classification of the structures, compositions, and types of multilayer metal-oxide structures in the course of their growth.