A theoretical model is presented that describes the volume scattering in thin optical films, particularly in typical columnar structures. It is based on a first-order perturbation theory that concerns the fluctuation of the dielectric permittivity in the film. For evaporated PbF(2) films that show a pronounced columnar morphology, angular as well as total integrated scattering measurements at lambda = 633 nm have been performed on a special layer design to suppress roughness-induced scattering. A comparison of the predicted theoretical and the measured experimental values leads to such structural parameters as packing density and the evolutionary exponent of the columns.
A computational procedure has been developed for deriving dielectric functions of solids from reflectance spectra at off-normal incidence and p- or s-polarization. Based on the generalized Kramers-Kronig relations, the whole set of additional phase corrections-'Blaschke factors'-caused by singularities have been derived. This analysis may be used to omit those regions of measurement parameters (angle of incidence and polarization) which contribute to frequency-dependent phase corrections, because they are hardly accessible for unknown materials. Error estimation, including the angle dependence of typical sources of error, has shown the advantages of measurements at angles of incidence ranging from 60 degrees to 80 degrees in comparison with those at normal incidence. These benefits have been verified by the transformation of experimental spectra.
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