Spectroscopic ellipsometry for low-dimensional materials and heterostructures

Discovery of low-dimensional materials has been of great interest in physics and material science. Optical permittivity is an optical fingerprint of material electronic structures, and thus it is an important parameter in the study of the properties of materials. Spectroscopic ellipsometry provides a fast, robust, and noninvasive method for obtaining the optical permittivity spectra of newly discovered materials. Atomically thin low-dimensional materials have an extremely short vertical optical path length inside them, making the spectroscopic ellipsometry of low-dimensional materials unique, compared to traditional ellipsometry. Here, we introduce the fundamentals of spectroscopic ellipsometry for two-dimensional (2D) materials and review recent progress. We also discuss technical challenges and future directions in spectroscopic ellipsometry for low-dimensional materials.