Three-terminal cell for thin film dielectric measurements

A cell has been designed and built for measurement of the dielectric constant and dissipation factor of thin films. The principle employed is the two-fluid, three-terminal scheme,
^{1,2, 3}
adapted to thin film measurements. Measurements of dielectric constant, dissipation factor and thickness can be obtained on films ranging from about 250 μm (10 mil) down to 1 μm (0. 04 mil). Agreement is in general better than 1%, except for the dissipation factor of very low loss films where bridge sensitivity is the limiting factor.