Total internal reflection ellipsometry (TIRE) in spectroscopic mode in the wavelength range 400-1200 nm is employed in situ at a solid/liquid interface for investigation of protein adsorption on thin semitransparent gold films. In this configuration, the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon gives a large enhancement of the thin film sensitivity. Adsorption of a monolayer of the protein ferritin is monitored kinetically in situ and results in a change in the ellipsometric parameter A of more than 90degrees compared to 3degrees in similar ellipsometric measurements on gold substrates. This large sensitivity demonstrates a potential for sensor applications. The ferritin layer optical function is modeled with a Cauchy dispersion model resulting in a layer thickness of 9.2 nm, in good agreement with the dimension of the ferritin molecules. A transition layer between the protein film and the gold layer is necessary to introduce in the model to account for interactions between the protein layer and the gold film. The large sensitivity of TIRE for thin layers opens up a pathway to analyze in detail the structure of thin protein layers provided that a further development of the experimental setup and the model for the protein layer is carried out. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.