Abstract
The anodic oxidation of zirconium was studied by in situ ellipsometry together with capacity measurements. The oxides were grown under potentiodynamic, galvanostatic, and potentiostatic conditions up to final potentials of 100 V in 0.5M 
solution. The refractive index of the oxides changes depending on the growth current. The films were slightly absorbing but their absorption coefficient was independent of the oxide growth conditions. Different methods of surface preparation including etching in hydrofluoric acid‐based mixtures, electropolishing and mechanical polishing were used. The surfaces and oxides were characterized by SEM examination and XPS measurements. The surface pretreatment affects both the substrate and the oxide optical constants as well as the rate of oxide growth. The density and dielectric constant of the oxides were calculated performing simultaneous ellipsometric, coulometric, and capacity measurements.