MProbe UVVis - UV-visible thin-film measurement
Two systems covering 200–1000 nm: MProbe® UVVisSR with continuous Deuterium and Tungsten-Halogen lamps, and the gated MProbe UVVisF with a Xe flash lamp for high-ambient-light and inline use. Both measure thickness and optical constants - with a clear advantage for very thin films and UV-absorbing materials.
Overview
MProbe® 20 UVVis is a desktop system for high-precision measurement of thickness and refractive index. It is especially useful for materials with an absorption edge in the UV - metal oxides such as TiO₂ and ZnO - and for very thin films (< 50 nm), where the shorter wavelengths give a real advantage. Its capabilities overlap with the MProbe Vis system, but the extended range makes it the better choice for these two application classes. It is primarily used for R&D.
Two light-source approaches
Both UVVis systems cover the same 200–1000 nm range but differ in light source and mode of operation, each with its own strengths.
- MProbe UVVisSR uses a 30 W short-arc (see-through) Deuterium lamp and a 20 W Tungsten-Halogen lamp in tandem. Both are high-stability continuous sources, so longer integration times can be used to improve precision on low-intensity signals. The result is a spectrum balanced between the UV and visible parts.
- MProbe UVVisF uses a 20 W Xe flash lamp whose strobes (< 2 µs) are synchronized with data acquisition. This gated acquisition works well in high-ambient-light environments such as deposition chambers, and its short measurement time suits inline monitoring and other kinetic processes.
The UVVisF gated variant
MProbe UVVisF is similar to UVVisSR but has a shorter wavelength range weighted toward the UV, designed for fast measurement and long lamp life. Because it uses gated acquisition of ~2 µs Xe flashes, it operates reliably in high-ambient-light environments such as sputtering.
- Short, fixed measurement time (< 1 ms) with a constant, predictable frequency - typically 10–20 Hz
- High intensity at shorter wavelengths and a long lamp lifetime (> 20,000 hrs at 10 Hz)
- Suited to in-situ and inline monitoring of kinetic processes
- The same < 0.01 nm precision as every desktop MProbe system
Why MProbe UVVis
- Reliable measurement with automatic integration-time adjustment
- Advantage for UV-absorbing materials and very thin films
- Fine focusing adjustment with the SH200A stage
- 500+ material library; unlimited layers, backside-reflectance, roughness and dullness support in TFCompanion™
A UVVisX detector variant offers a smoother spectrum with increased NIR sensitivity, helping balance the spectrum where UV fibers transmit less in the NIR.
What's in the box
- Main unit (spectrometer and light source)
- UVVis solarization-resistant fiber-optic reflectance probe
- SH200A sample stage (MProbe 20 configuration)
- TFCompanion-RA software, USB license dongle, distribution media and User Guide
- Calibration set (bare Si wafer, quartz plate) and black absorber; 200 nm Si oxide test sample
Working with UV-absorbing films or very thin layers?
Tell us your material and thickness - we'll advise whether the continuous-lamp UVVisSR or the gated UVVisF is the better fit.