Patent ID: 6414302
Filing Date: 2002-07-02
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
In apparatus for the characterization of a solid of the type where changes in the polarization of light in a light path in which said light has passed in an incident light beam from a light source to said solid and after reflection from a point on the surface of said solid in a reflected beam to a detector of said changes, said changes being correlated with features of said solid, the improvement comprising:a deuterium light source providing light through an MgF window into a light path in a controlled ambient of one of a vacuum and an inert gas in an enclosure including light path aiming from outside said enclosure, said light in said light path including a photon energy range up through and including 10 eV, said light in said path being polarized before reflection from said solid, said light path extending from said light source to a detector of changes in polarization of said light after reflection from said solid, and, said incident light beam and said reflected light beam subtend an angle that is within about 5 degrees of the normal from the surface of said solid.