A novel dual-frequency paired polarization phase shifting ellipsometer (DPPSE) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. It combines the features of the phase shifting interferometer and common-path polarized heterodyne interferometric ellipsometer where the ellipsometric parameters (EP) of a specimen are measured accurately. The experimental results verify that DPPSE is capable of determining the full dynamic range of EP. In addition, the properties of dual-frequency paired linearly polarized laser beam in DPPSE perform in common phase noise rejection mode. It is insensitive to environmental disturbance and laser frequency noise. The capability of DPPSE to perform higher accuracy EP measurement than conventional ellipsometer is verified according to error analysis. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
