Ellipsometry is an optical technique for the investigation of the dielectric properties (complex refractive index or dielectric function) of thin films. Upon the analysis of the change of polarization of light, which is reflected off a sample, ellipsometry can yield information about layers that are thinner than the wavelength of the probing light itself, even down to a single atomic layer. The technology is non-destructive and contactless. Ellipsometry can probe the complex refractive index and film thickness.
A Brewster Angle Microscop is dedicated to visualize the surface of ultrathin films.
At a special angle known as Brewster's angle, no p-polarized light is reflected from the surface, thus all reflected light must be s-polarized, with an electric field perpendicular to the plane of incidence.
Reflection spectroscopy is technology for the investigation of the orientation, association, adsorption and chemical change of chromophores in monolayers at the air-water interface.
A Langmuir-Blodgett trough is a laboratory apparatus that is used to compress monolayers of molecules on the surface of a given subphase (usually water) and measures surface phenomena due to this compression. It can also be used to deposit single or multiple monolayers on a solid substrate.
The term tensiometer applies to a devices to measure the surface tension of liquids. Surface tension is a property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force.
The Wilhelmy Plate tensiometer requires a plate to make contact with the liquid surface. It is widely considered the simplest and most accurate method for surface tension measurement.
A Wilhelmy plate is a thin plate that is used to measure equilibrium surface or interfacial tension at an air–liquid or liquid–liquid interface. In this method, the plate is oriented perpendicular to the interface, and the force exerted on it is measured.
Profilometer is a measuring instrument used to measure a surface's profile, in order to quantify its roughness.
Nanoindentation is a variety of indentation hardness tests applied to small volumes. Indentation is perhaps the most commonly applied means of testing the mechanical properties of materials. A nanoindenter is the main component for indentation hardness tests used in nanoindentation.
There are many types of nanoindenters in current use differing mainly on their tip geometry. Among the numerous available geometries are three and four sided pyramids, wedges, cones, cylinders, filaments, and spheres.
Raman spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique used to study vibrational, rotational, and other low-frequency modes in a system. It relies on inelastic scattering, or Raman scattering, of monochromatic light, usually from a laser in the visible, near infrared, or near ultraviolet range. The laser light interacts with molecular vibrations, phonons or other excitations in the system, resulting in the energy of the laser photons being shifted up or down. The shift in energy gives information about the vibrational modes in the system.
Several variations of Raman spectroscopy have been developed. The usual purpose is to enhance the sensitivity, e.g., surface-enhanced Raman (SERS), to improve the spatial resolution, to acquire very specific information (resonance Raman). Another variation is the tip enhanced raman spectroscopy (TERS).
The patch clamp technique is a laboratory technique in electrophysiology that allows the study of single or multiple ion channels in cells.
An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses a particle beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and produce a magnified image. Electron microscopes (EM) have a greater resolving power than a light-powered optical microscope, because electrons have wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than visible light (photons), and can achieve better than 50 pm resolution.
The electron microscope uses electrostatic and electromagnetic "lenses" to control the electron beam and focus it to form an image. These lenses are analogous to, but different from the glass lenses of an optical microscope that form a magnified image by focusing light on or through the specimen.
Established types of electron microscopes are:
There are also several spcial set ups in the market, such as: HeIM Helium ion microscope (SHIM), Focused Ion Beam (FIB), Field Emission Gun (FEG), Field Emission (FE)
Confocal microscopy is an optical imaging technique used to increase optical resolution and contrast of a micrograph by using point illumination and a spatial pinhole to eliminate out-of-focus light in specimens that are thicker than the focal plane. It enables the reconstruction of three-dimensional structures from the obtained images.
Three types of confocal microscopes are commercially available:
Further used explanations are used: Digital Confocal Microscope (DCM), Digital Resolution Microscope (DRM), spinning disc confocal solutions (SDCS)
An inverted microscope is a microscope with its light source and condenser on the top, above the stage pointing down, while the objectives and turret are below the stage pointing up.
The specimen is illuminated with light of a specific wavelength (or wavelengths) which is absorbed by the fluorophores, causing them to emit light of longer wavelengths (i.e. of a different color than the absorbed light). The illumination light is separated from the much weaker emitted fluorescence through the use of a spectral emission filter.
Some set ups use X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF)
