Rapeepan KaewonChutchai PawongRatchapak ChitareeTossaporn LertvanithpholApichai BhatranandRajamangala University of Technology KrungthepSilpakorn UniversityMahidol UniversityThailand National Electronics and Computer Technology CenterKing Mongkut s University of Technology Thonburi2020-08-252020-08-252020-01-01Optica Applicata. Vol.50, No.1 (2020), 69-8118997015007854662-s2.0-85088315864https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/57991© 2020 WrocÅ‚aw University of Science and Technology. All rights reserved. An alternative polarization phase-shifting technique is proposed to determine the thickness of transparent thin-films. In this study, the cyclic interferometric configuration is chosen to maintain the stability of the operation against external vibrations. The incident light is simply split by a non-polarizing beam splitter cube to generate test and reference beams, which are subsequently polarized by a polarizing beam splitter. Both linearly polarized beams are orthogonal and counter -propagating within the interferometer. A wave plate is inserted into the common paths to introduce an intrinsic phase difference between the orthogonal polarized beams. A transparent thin-film sample, placed in one of the beam tracks, modifies the output signal in terms of the phase retardation in comparison with the reference beam. The proposed phase-shifting technique uses a moving mirror with a set of “fixed” polarizing elements, namely, a quarter-wave retarder and a polarizer, to facilitate phase extraction without rotating any polarizing devices. The measured thicknesses are compared with the measurements of the same films acquired using standard equipment such as the field-emission scanning electron microscope and spectroscopic ellipsometer. Experimental results with the corresponding measured values are in good agreement with commercial measurements. The system can be reliably utilized for non-destructive thickness measurements of transparent thin -films.Mahidol UniversityMaterials SciencePhysics and AstronomyArticleSCOPUS10.37190/OA200106