Engineering Research Equipment Grants: A High Performance Imaging and Control System for the Surface Forces Apparatus

直到实验方法的困难和乏味 减少，表面力装置将仍然是一个工具， 几个专注的专家，而不是一个 胶体和界面科学中主要技术。 十五 在其发展多年之后，研究人员继续测量 低强度的位置和波长 用眼睛观察干涉条纹;这个过程至少需要六个 几个月的实践掌握，因为它必须是，如果表面 应准确和精确地确定分离， 在一埃之内。 即便如此， 测量最终受到身体能力的限制 和研究人员的毅力。 在这份提案中，我们要求 基金开发高性能成像和控制系统 对于提供自动化的地面设备， 力测量的分辨率高于目前 可能 该系统将与我们的 表面力装置来研究结构， 有机薄膜的稳定性。

Until the difficulty and tedium of the experimental method is reduced, the surface forces apparatus will remain a tool in the hands of a few dedicated specialists rather than a mainstay technique in colloid and interface science. Fifteen years after its development, researchers continue to measure the positions, and thereby wavelengths, of the low intensity interference fringes by eye; a process that takes at least six months of practice to master, as it must be, if surface separation is to be determined accurately and precisely to within one angstrom. Even then, the resolution of the measurement is ultimately limited by the physical abilities and stamina of the researcher. In this proposal, we request funds to develop a high perfomance imaging and control system for the surface apparatus that provides for automation of the force measurement with resolution greater than currently possible. The system will be used in conjunction with our surface forces apparatus to investigate the structure and stability of ultrathin organic films.