• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.428-434
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• 2023

The compensators used in spectroscopic ellipsometers are usually assumed to be ideal linear waveplates. In reality, however, they are elliptical waveplates, because they are usually made by bonding two or more linear waveplates of different materials with slight misalignment. This induces systematic error when they are modeled as linear waveplates. We propose an improved calibration method based on an optical model that regards an elliptical waveplate as a combination of a circular waveplate (rotator) and a linear waveplate. The method allows elimination of the systematic error, and the residual error of optic axis measurement is reduced to 0.025 degrees in the spectral range of 450-800 nm.