Spectral Ellipsometry of Metal–Oxide Nanocomposites in Planar Nonvolatile Memory Technologies

The principles of application of spectral ellipsometry and reflectometry methods for nondestructive testing of inhomogeneous metal–oxide nanocomposites—working materials of planar nanotechnologies of nonvolatile memory—are considered. The reflection coefficients and ellipsometric parameters obtained at different wavelengths make it possible to reconstruct the internal structure of a metal–oxide nanocomposite layer inhomogeneous in volume by solving an integral equation of the first kind. The method was tested in the study of electrical contact ac-oxidation of steel based on the Fe–18Cr system in the region of low-temperature activation, where the structure, composition and electrical properties of the inhomogeneous surface thermo-oxide layer change significantly when the activity of the oxidizer changes.