Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T20:13:11.567Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Capillary Forces Studied with Atomic Force Microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Sahar Maghsoudy-Louyeh  and
Bernhard R. Tittmann
Sahar Maghsoudy-Louyeh
Affiliation:
sum179@psu.edu, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, 212 Earth & Engineering Sciences Building, University Park, PA, 16802, United States, 814-865-3626
Bernhard R. Tittmann
Affiliation:
brt4@psu.edu, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, 212 Earth & Engineering Sciences Building, University Park, PA, 16802, United States
Get access

Abstract

The deposition of films and coatings is sometimes influenced by the presence of small amounts of moisture, which can affect the nucleation and growth processes. It is important to understand the behavior of coating materials–especially in semiconductors–in terms of hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity along with adhesion forces. Our technical approach centers on the use of the atomic force microscope (AFM) which was found to be a reliable tool for studying the surface characteristics of materials. In addition to obtaining topographic information, the AFM can also probe attractive or repulsive forces between the tip and the sample surfaces. In this research, a systematic study of the influence of humidity on the adhesion forces between different AFM tips (silicon and silicon nitride) and both hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials (quartz, calcite, mica, graphite) has been conducted using atomic force microscopy. Several force-distance curves measured by the M5 AFM have been gathered at a series of different humidity levels and different locations on the samples. In this paper, measurements of the adhesion force for hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials versus humidity are presented. The results show that the adhesion force on graphite which has hydrophobic character is independent of humidity variation. Results also show that the adhesion force for fused quartz, mica, and calcite which are hydrophilic materials, change dramatically with increasing humidity due to capillary forces. This is in good agreement with theoretical calculations.

Keywords

adhesionfilmsurface chemistry
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1025: Symposium B – Nanoscale Phenomena in Functional Materials by Scanning Probe Microscopy , 2007 , 1025-B12-07
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Howland, R. and Benatar, L., Park Scientific Instruments 74 (1996).Google Scholar
2. Butt, H.-J. and Cappella, B., Surface science reports 59 1–152 (2005).Google Scholar
3. Adamson, A. W., Physical chemistry of surfaces 3rd ed Wiley, , New York and London (1976).Google Scholar
4. O'Brien, W. J. and Hermann, J. J., J. Adhes. 5 91–103 (1973).Google Scholar
5. Cappella, B. and Dietler, G., Surface Science Reports 34 1–104 (1999).Google Scholar
6. Butt, H. J., Farshchi-Tabrizi, M. and Kapple, M., Journal of Applied Physics 100 024312 (2006).Google Scholar
7. Cleaver, J. A. S. and Tyrrell, J. W. G., Kona 22 9–22 (2004).Google Scholar
8. Tang, J., and Wang, C. et al. , Chinese Sci. Bull. 46 912–4 (2001).Google Scholar
9. Israelichvili, J. N., Intermolecular and surface force London: Academic Press. (1992).Google Scholar
10. Xiao, X. D. and Qian, L. M., Langmuir 21 8153–8 (2000).Google Scholar
11. Stifter, T., Marti, O. and Bhushan, B., The American Physical Society 62 13667–73 (2000).Google Scholar
12. Xu, L., Lio, A., Hu, J., Ogletree, D. F. and Salmeron, M., J. Phys. Chem.B. 102 50–548 (1998).Google Scholar