Using atomically smooth epitaxial silver films, new optical permittivity highlighting significant loss reduction in the visible frequency range is extracted. Largely enhanced propagation distances of surface plasmon polaritons are measured, confirming the low intrinsic loss in silver. The new permittivity is free of extrinsic spectral features associated with grain boundaries and localized plasmons inevitably present in thermally deposited films.

Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to understand the properties of α,α,β-trisnaphthylbenzene (ααβ-TNB) glasses vapor-deposited at a substrate temperature of 295 K (0.85 T(g)). In a single temperature ramping experiment, a range of properties of the as-deposited glass can be measured, including density, fictive temperature, onset temperature, thermal expansion coefficient, and birefringence. The vapor-deposited ααβ-TNB glass is 1.3% more dense than the ordinary glass prepared by cooling at 1 K/min, is found to be birefringent, has a fictive temperature 35 K below that of the ordinary glass, and an onset temperature 20 K above that of the ordinary glass. The thermal expansion coefficient of the vapor-deposited ααβ-TNB glass is 14% lower than that of the ordinary glass, indicating that lower portions of the potential energy landscape have more harmonic potential minima than the parts accessible to the ordinary glass.

The authors have realized that the calculation shown in the inset of Figure 2c plotted electric fi eld decay, while they had used intensity decay to defi ne propagation distance for the experimental data in the rest of the manuscript. The calculation plot is corrected here to refl ect intensity decay. In the inset of Figure 2c, the graph is replotted with semilog predictions. A plot of the predicted propagation distances using the JC data is also added. The predicted propagation distances at 632nm from all three predictions are now labelled. Some of the values quoted in the text that were based on this calculation were incorrect as a result of this. These values are also corrected here. As the graph in the inset of Figure 2c is also part of the table of contents image, the table of contents image is also corrected. The corrected ToC image -On page 6108; right column; line 7: "intensity" should be added before "propagation distances". CONTENTS

Two techniques are presented for measuring the refractive index of fluids. The first is a reflective technique where liquid is applied to a rough surface to hold the liquid during measurement. Ellipsometric psi and delta data are acquired and analyzed to determine the fluid refractive index. The second technique is refractive and uses a hollow prism cell to contain the liquid. The fluid index is then determined using the prism minimum deviation technique. Both techniques have been applied over a very wide spectral range from the vacuum ultraviolet to the infrared and have been implemented on a research spectroscopic ellipsometer system (VUV-VASE®) with continuously variable angle of incidence. The refractive index of several candidate immersion fluids for 157 and 193 nm immersion lithography are reported over the spectral range from 156 to 1700 nm in a nitrogen-purged environment. The advantages and disadvantages of both techniques are discussed. Results were checked against values measured on very accurate prism minimum deviation equipment at NIST, and agreement with NIST has been found to be good on all fluids measured.

Spectroscopic ellipsometry ͑SE͒ is a noncontact and nondestructive optical technique for thin film characterization. In the past 10 yr, it has migrated from the research laboratory into the semiconductor, data storage, display, communication, and optical coating industries. The wide acceptance of SE is a result of its flexibility to measure most material types: dielectrics, semiconductors, metals, superconductors, polymers, biological coatings, and even multilayers of these materials. Measurement of anisotropic materials has also made huge strides in recent years. Traditional SE measurements cover the ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared wavelengths. This spectral range is now acquired within seconds with high accuracy due to innovative optical configurations and charge coupled device detection. In addition, commercial SE has expanded into both the vacuum ultraviolet ͑VUV͒ and midinfrared ͑IR͒. This wide spectral coverage was achieved by utilizing new optical elements and detection systems, along with UV or Fourier transform IR light sources. Modern instrumentation is now available with unprecedented flexibility promoting a new range of possible applications. For example, the VUV spectral region is capable of characterizing lithographic materials for 157 nm photolithography. The VUV also provides increased sensitivity for thin layers ͑e.g., gate oxides or self-assembled monolayers͒ and allows investigation of high-energy electronic transitions. The infrared spectral region contains information about semiconductor doping concentration, phonon absorption, and molecular bond vibrational absorptions. In this work, we review the latest progress in SE wavelength coverage. Areas of significant application in both research and industrial fields will be surveyed, with emphasis on wavelength-specific information content.