ABSTRACT
Ellipsometry is a technique used to obtain the dielectric properties of materials in the optical domain. The technique is based on the measurement of changes in the state of polarization of a collimated monochromatic light beam caused by the interaction of the beam with the physical system investigated. Ellipsometry has usually been employed in a reflection mode. Ellipsometry has been used quite extensively in the reflection mode for the determination of the optical spectra of highly absorbing solids, including metal and semiconductor phases. This chapter describes basic parameters that determine the properties of a light beam specularly reflected from a film-free electrode surface and from a filmed electrode surface immersed in a liquid electrolyte.
