Corrections for component imperfections and azimuth errors in an automatic self-compensating ellipsometer

An analysis of the first-order effects of component imperfections and azimuth errors in an automatic, self-compensating ellipsometer is presented. Twenty-three parameters in a linearized theory are used to compute the ellipsometer parameters ..delta.. and psi from polarizer, quarter wave compensator, and analyzer azimuths. These parameters are evaluated using 56 experimental measurements. The effectiveness of the corrections is recognized by a substantial decrease of the differences between 4-zone measurements. The theoretical dependence of the magnitude of errors on the orientation of the polarizer, analyzer, and quarter wave plate was experimentally verified