Imaging Ellipsometer for Soft Materials at Surfaces and Interfaces

用于表面和界面软材料的成像椭偏仪

• 批准号: 406060-2011
• 负责人: DalnokiVeress, Kari
• 金额: $ 10.85万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2011-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=472376
• 关键词: Imaging; Ellipsometer; Soft; Materials; Surfaces

The main focus of our research group is soft-materials at surfaces and interfaces. The physics of soft materials is distinct from hard matter as the weaker intermolecular bonds result in a large response to external stresses. One surprising aspect of these materials is that thin films or coatings do not necessarily exhibit the same properties as bulk materials. In order to further our understanding of these systems we request an imaging ellipsometer (IE). The IE is a versatile optical tool which can measure properties which can be related to the thickness of a film. Much as an optical microscope obtains an image of an object, the IE is capable of obtaining an image which corresponds to the thickness of a film. Besides the use of this instrument in the day-to-day characterisation of our samples, we intend to use it as the primary tool to answer some fundamental questions: Why do thin film properties differ from the bulk? At what film thickness do these anomalies start to become important? How do complex morphologies on small length scales develop and what fundamental properties can we learn from this? Addressing these issues is crucial to the development of nanoscale devices and is likely to result in major advances in our understanding of soft materials at small length-scales.

我们研究小组的主要重点是表面和界面的软材料。软物质的物理性质与硬物质不同，因为较弱的分子间键导致对外部应力的较大响应。这些材料的一个令人惊讶的方面是薄膜或涂层不一定表现出与块体材料相同的性质。为了进一步了解这些系统，我们要求一个成像椭偏仪（IE）。IE是一种通用的光学工具，可以测量与薄膜厚度相关的特性。就像光学显微镜获得物体的图像一样，IE能够获得对应于膜厚度的图像。除了在我们的样品的日常表征中使用这种仪器外，我们还打算将其作为回答一些基本问题的主要工具：为什么薄膜的性质与散装不同？在什么样的薄膜厚度下，这些异常开始变得重要？小尺度上的复杂形态是如何发展的，我们可以从中学到什么基本性质？解决这些问题是至关重要的纳米器件的发展，并有可能导致我们在小长度尺度的软材料的理解的重大进展。