Virtual substrate model for in situ thin film thickness determination

Abstract

A computational system has been developed for in situ monitoring of the optical properties of transparent thin films, grown by the spray pyrolysis technique on specular semi-infinite substrates, using the virtual substrate model for normal incidence reflectance. The system consists of a PC, a custom made data acquisition board, and software capable of in situ thickness monitoring and post-deposition analysis of optical parameters using the R = R(t) curve. The Levenberg– Marquardt numerical procedure was used in order to fit theoretical and experimental values of the normal incidence reflectance data with a small percentage error.