The application of reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy to organics deposition

Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) has been recently used to investigate organic compounds, similarly to what has been already done in the case of inorganic semiconductors and metals. An important development is the application of RAS to monitor in real time the growth of thin organic layers in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). In this paper, we discuss the main characteristics of RAS spectroscopy, underlining its peculiar advantages with respect to other techniques. Then, we present recent results obtained by following in situ the deposition of an ordered organic film in UHV, namely α-sexithiophene films onto potassium acid phthalate.