Selective reflection technique as a probe to monitor the growth of a metallic thin film on dielectric surfaces

Abstract: Controlling thin film formation is technologically challenging. The knowledge of physical properties of the film and of the atoms in the surface vicinity can help improve control over the film growth. We investigate the use of the well-established selective reflection technique to probe the thin film during its growth, simultaneously monitoring the film thickness, the atom-surface van der Waals interaction and the vapor properties in the surface vicinity.