Use of surface plasma waves for determination of the thickness and optical constants of thin metallic films

The surface plasma wave (SPW) technique for determining the frequency-dependent dielectric constant epsilon(omega) and the thickness d of a metal film without a present expression for epsilon(omega) is discussed. It is shown that two sets of solutions can be derived from the resonant excitation of the SPW at a given frequency. Solutions at another frequency are required to select the correct sets for epsilon(omega) and d (those with the same d for both frequencies).