The ellipsometric investigation of passivation film on metal was demonstrated. The following topics were described.
(1) The passive film on cobalt, to which the ellipsometry was applied for the study of its layered structure in combination with an electrochemical method.
(2) The passive film on titanium, to which a multiple-angle-of-incidence “ex-situ” method was applied, combined with the conventional “in-situ” ellipsometry, for surveying the optical constants of titanium substrate as well as the passive film.
(3) The thin oxide film formation during the dry corrosion of pure iron.
(4) The spectroscopic measurement, from which the optical absorption coefficients of thin passive films on iron and titanium were estimated to be compared with the conventional absorption spectra of the oxides.
(5) The recent application of the microscopic ellipsometry to a two-phase stainless steel, the results of which indicated that there was a significant scatter of the film thickness depending on the composition of grains.