Abstract

An attempt to determine the thicknesses of thin films by the polarimetric method evolved into a study of the method itself. This paper contains a summary of the equations and a description of the experimental technique used in the study, as well as experimental results. It has been found that the optical constants of metals are practically independent of the angle of incidence. Film thicknesses, calculated from polarimetric data, were found to be of the correct order of magnitude but not to be independent of the angle of incidence. Also, the computed thicknesses were always complex.

© 1936 Optical Society of America

The Optics of Nerve Myelin

Richard S. Bear and Francis O. Schmitt
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 26(5) 206-212 (1936)

The Optical Constants of Potassium

Herbert E. Ives and H. B. Briggs
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 26(6) 238-246 (1936)

A New Theory of Optical Image Formation*

M. Herzberger
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 26(5) 197-204 (1936)

The Optical Properties of Semi-Transparent Sputtered Films Determined by Interference of Light

J. B. Nathanson and C. L. Bartberger
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 29(10) 417-426 (1939)

Multiple Sets of Fringes in the Michelson Interferometer

I. Walerstein and R. A. Woodson
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 26(6) 267-271 (1936)