Reflection/transmission Measurements of Anisotropic Films with One of the Principal Axes in the Direction of Columnar Growth

In depositing crystalline thin films, anisotropy may be induced by the texture structure of the film. Generally one of the principal axes of this anisotropy is in the direction of columnar growth, which may be neither normal nor parallel to the film surface. In this paper we have developed a general method for characterizing thin films with this kind of anisotropy. Propagation of plane waves in media with the above mentioned crystalline structure has been studied. The reflectance and transmittance of a plane wave from the films with the structure-induced anisotropy have been calculated. By comparing calculations with measurements, we could determine optical properties and thicknesses of the films with the columnar-structure-induced anisotropy.