Studies of Nanostructured Layers with UV-VIS Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Abstract: In this report a model analysis is presented for three different nanostructured layers: silicon nanotips (SiNTs), gold nanosandwiches and Split Ring Resonators (SRR). The last two materials are metamaterials and both may show a negative refraction index. Experimental data are obtained for every sample using a variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometer. For the gold nanosandwiches, also an infrared ellipsometric measurement is done. For complex layers like these, advanced modeling is necessary. A recently developed analysis program including options for both anisotropic permittivity and permeability is used. A realistic model is presented in this report for the gold nanosandwiches, which also includes the magnetic activity in the layer itself. The results for the nanosandwiches are reasonable, and a magnetic oscillation is found in the horizontal plane at around 260 nm although it was not expected to have a resonance that far in the UV-range. For the SiNTs and the SRR it was not possible to create an acceptable model.