Contact-free calibration of an asymmetric multi-layer interferometer for the surface force balance

The Review of Scientific Instruments
M BalabajewSusan Perkin

Abstract

The Surface Force Balance (SFB, also known as Surface Force Apparatus, SFA) has provided important insights into many phenomena within the field of colloid and interface science. The technique relies on using white light interferometry to measure the distance between surfaces with sub-nanometer resolution. Up until now, the determination of the distance between the surfaces required a so-called "contact calibration," an invasive procedure during which the surfaces are brought into mechanical contact. This requirement for a contact calibration limits the range of experimental systems that can be investigated with SFB, for example, it precludes experiments with substrates that would be irreversibly modified or damaged by mechanical contact. Here we present a non-invasive method to measure absolute distances without performing a contact calibration. The method can be used for both "symmetric" and "asymmetric" systems. We foresee many applications for this general approach including, most immediately, experiments using single layer graphene electrodes in the SFB which may be damaged when brought into mechanical contact.

References

Feb 21, 2009·Faraday Discussions·Susan PerkinJacob Klein
May 15, 2009·The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B·Robert HayesRob Atkin
Feb 4, 2012·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Susan Perkin
May 21, 2014·Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry·Daniel F KienleTonya L Kuhl
Aug 30, 2014·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Jude BrittonNicole Grobert
May 8, 2015·ACS Photonics·Kevin M McPeakDavid J Norris
Nov 19, 2015·The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters·Alexander M Smith, Susan Perkin
May 25, 2016·The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters·Alexander M SmithSusan Perkin
May 10, 2017·Nano Letters·Christian D van EngersSusan Perkin

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