Sensitivity Improvement in Optical Phase Diffraction Using Empirical Mode Decomposition

Phase diffraction is a potent property used in transparent dielectric film characterization. The measured diffraction pattern on the camera is evaluated by matching numerically computed diffraction patterns to determine the optical properties of the ultra-thin films (refractive index, thickness, etc.). However, the obtained diffraction data is not only a nonlinear and non-stationary signal but also exhibits micron-scale variations, thus limiting the measurement accuracy. Therefore, it is challenging to identify shifts in minima and deviations in amplitude on diffraction data to extract information about the optical properties of phase objects. In this study, it is aimed to improve the thickness sensitivity of the system by applying Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) to plane wave-based near- field phase diffraction data. Since EMD is very sensitive to abrupt changes in the signal due to the spatial frequency components, the nanoscale variations in the film thickness become more observable and detectable. Experimental outputs and numerical simulations show that the decomposition increases the thickness sensitivity comparing the classical matching technique.