A dispersion model capable of expressing the dielectric response of a broad class of optical materials in a wide spectral range from far IR to vacuum UV is described in detail. The application of this universal dispersion model to a specific material is demonstrated using the ellipsometric and spectrophotometric characterization of a hafnia film prepared by vacuum evaporation on silicon substrate. The characterization utilizes simultaneous processing of data from multiple techniques and instruments covering the wide spectral range and includes the characterization of roughness, nonuniformity, transition layer, and native oxide layer on the back of the substrate. It is shown how the combination of measurements in light reflected from both sides of the sample and transmitted light allows the separation of weak absorption in films and substrates. This approach is particularly useful in the IR region where the absorption structures in films and substrates often overlap and a prior measurement of the bare substrate may be otherwise necessary for precise separation. Individual phenomena that contribute to the dielectric response, i.e., interband electronic transitions, electronic excitations involving the localized states, and phonon absorption, are discussed in detail. A quantitative analysis of absorption on localized states, permitting the separation of transitions between localized states from transitions between localized and extended states, is utilized to obtain estimates of the density of localized states and film stoichiometry.

Two dispersion models of disordered solids, one parameterizing density of states (PDOS) and the other parameterizing joint density of states (PJDOS), are presented. Using these models, not only the complex dielectric function of the materials, but also some information about their electronic structure can be obtained. The numerical integration is necessary in the PDOS model. If analytical expressions are required the presented PJDOS model is, for some materials, a suitable option still providing information about the electronic structure of the material. It is demonstrated that the PDOS model can be successfully applied to a wide variety of materials. In this paper, its application to diamond-like carbon (DLC), a-Si and SiO₂-like materials are discussed in detail. Unlike the PDOS model, the presented PJDOS model represents a special case of parameterization that can be applied to limited types of materials, for example DLC, ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) and SiO₂-like.

An atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge burning in nitrogen with a small admixture of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) was used for the deposition of thin organosilicon films. The thin films were deposited on glass, silicon and polycarbonate substrates, and the substrate temperature during the deposition process was increased up to values within the range 25–150 °C in order to obtain hard SiO _x -like thin films. The properties of the discharge were studied by means of optical emission spectroscopy and electrical measurements. The deposited films were characterized by the Rutherford backscattering and elastic recoil detection methods, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy measurements, ellipsometry and the depth sensing indentation technique. It was found that the films' properties depend significantly on the substrate temperature at deposition. An increase in substrate temperature from 25 to 150 °C led to an increase in film hardness from 0.4 to 7 GPa and the film chemical composition changed from CH _x Si _y O _z to SiO _x H _y . The films were transparent in the visible range.