Nondestructive measurement of thickness and carrier concentration of GaAs epitaxial layer using infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry

This article reports a method for evaluating thickness and the carrier concentration of n type GaAs epitaxial layers simultaneously by employing nondestructive, contactless infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry. The carrier concentration N-c and layer thickness d were correctly measured for carrier concentration over 5 X 10(17) cm(-3) with the method by simply assuming the plasma oscillation of free carriers and a step function carrier profile. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(98)01003-2].