Ellipsometry measures the change of polarization upon reflection or transmission.

Typically, ellipsometry is done only in the reflection setup. The exact nature of the polarization change is determined by the sample's properties (thickness, complex refractive index or dielectric function tensor). Although optical techniques are inherently diffraction limited, ellipsometry exploits phase information and the polarization state of light, and can achieve angstrom resolution. In its simplest form, the technique is applicable to thin films with thickness less than a nanometer to several micrometers. The sample must be composed of a small number of discrete, well-defined layers that are optically homogeneous and isotropic. Violation of these assumptions will invalidate the standard ellipsometric modeling procedure, and more advanced variants of the technique must be applied (see below).