Research on spectroscopic ellipsometry in China with future challenges

•Brief review of the history of SE research and development in China.•Exploration of future challenges to tackle by the SE community.•The new configurations of DRC-MMIE and high speed SE system without mechanic moving parts in parallel mode are presented. Following the fast and advanced development of technologies worldwide in the early 1970s, especially focusing on industry and academic applications, research on spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) has been significantly performed in many universities and institutes in China, which is a typical developing country. Through strong international cooperation, various SE configurations have been proposed and achieved in real and practical applications. Improvements in SE instrumentation have been stimulated and approached in the broad spectral region, providing powerful tools to study the optical properties of materials and micro/nanostructures under variable experimental conditions. Thus, a brief review of the historical research and development of SE in China is presented, and future challenges are discussed.