Homodyne detection based confocal phase diffraction method for thickness characterization of ultra-thin dielectric films coated on optical fibers

Characterizing the thickness of thin dielectric films is crucial in fiber optic sensor technologies due to their significant impact on sensor performance. However, non-destructive thickness characterization of films in the range of tens of nanometers, particularly on non-planar surfaces, is often a challenging, complex, and tedious process. In addition, the measurements often need highly calibrated devices under the control of specialists. In this paper, we propose a novel, non-destructive, and practical method for characterizing the thickness of ultra-thin ($<$100 nm) curved transparent dielectric films using homodyne detection of the confocal phase diffraction. The numerical simulations and experimental results show that suppressing stray light improves the influence of thickness information in the diffracted field. This significantly enhances the system’s sensitivity to nanometer-scale variations in dielectric film thickness, especially when integrated with a coherent detection scheme. According to the results, the film thickness can be precisely measured within a few nanometers, making it highly significant and promising for cost-effective optical metrology applications.