Münster 1999 – scientific programme

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CP: Chemische Physik

CP 25: Poster: Symposium: Benetzung und dünne Filme

CP 25.14: Poster

Monday, March 22, 1999, 18:00–20:00, R52/R72

NANOMETER RESOLUTION OF LIQUID STRUCTURES TOPOGRAPHY BY SCANNING FORCE MICROSCOPY — •Andreas Fery, Tilo Pompe, and Stephan Herminghaus — Max-Planck-Institut f"ur Kolloide und Grenzflächen, Rudower Chaussee 5, 12089 Berlin

In Tapping Mode SFM, a tip of several nm radius of curvature is vibrated at typical frequencies of 250 kHz and amplitudes of 10 to 100nm. As the tip approaches a surface, vibration is damped due to surface-tip interactions. The damping can be detected with high accuracy and used to measure surface topography with nm-resolution like in standard SFM. We have applied this technique for imaging various polar low viscosity liquids. The amount of energy dissipated in the liquid by imaging can be determined experimentally. From this data the distortions induced by imaging can be estimated to be in the nm range. This order of magnitude has been confirmed independently by comparison between experimentally determined droplet shapes and theoretical predictions. A model for the damping mechanism at liquid-air interfaces has been developed and compares favourably with experimental observations.