Polarized Light-Scattering Measurements of Polished and Etched Steel Surfaces

Published

July 1, 2000

Author(s)

Thomas A. Germer, T Rinder, HT Rothe

Abstract

The directional dependence of the intensity and polarization of light scattered by a series of steel surfaces was measured. The samples differ by polishing procedure. Theories for light scattering from microroughness and permittivity variations are reviewed and used to interpret the results. It is shown that the experimental data can be fit to a combination of the two scattering mechanisms, whereby the relative amplitude of the two scattering sources and the complex degree of correlation are treated as adjustable parameters. The fits show a low degree of correlation between the two sources of scatter at low spatial frequencies, with a higher degree of correlation at high spatial frequencies. This correlation has a characteristic phase, common for all of the samples. Comparison of the fitted roughness power spectral density (PSD) functions with those obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed reasonable but not perfect agreement. This study demonstrates how measurements of the polarization of scattered light can be used to quantify the scatter from two different scattering sources

Proceedings Title

Scattering and Surface Roughness, Conference I 3rd II SPIE

Conference Dates

July 31-August 2, 2000

Conference Title

Proceedings of SPIE--the International Society for Optical Engineering

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

ellipsometry, optical scatter, permittivity, polarimetry, roughness, steel

Citation

Germer, T. , Rinder, T. and Rothe, H. (2000), Polarized Light-Scattering Measurements of Polished and Etched Steel Surfaces, Scattering and Surface Roughness, Conference I 3rd II SPIE (Accessed January 2, 2025)