On the control of thin film growth by angular reflectometry near the Brewster angle

The method of angular reflectometry is used to analyze the formation dynamics of layered structures on transparent substrates. This method is highly sensitive to changes in the parameters of a film structure at the early stage of formation thereof. It is based on the angular dependence of the reflected signal intensity near the Brewster angle and is almost independent of the state of the measuring facility. Experimental data obtained for multiferroic thin films on an isotropic crystalline Al$_2$O$_3$(001) substrate are presented. The films on the Al$_2$O$_3$(001) substrate are obtained by sputtering a Bi$_{0.95}$Nd$_{0.05}$FeO$_3$ target for 5–600 s in an rf glow discharge initiated in oxygen.