0000000000433726
AUTHOR
P. Mächtle
A thin absorbing layer at the center of a Fabry-Pérot interferometer
The influence of a dye (Rhodamin B) dissolved in solution or adsorbed at an interface at the center of a Fabry-Perot interferometer on the transmission was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. We show that (i) spectra of extremely thin films are measurable at sub-monolayer concentration (one monolayer reduces the transmission by ≃50%), (ii) the transmission is sensitive to the location of an extremely thin film within nm range and (iii) the absorption coefficient is determined quantitatively by comparison between theory and experiment thus permitting one to estimate the local concentration. The results are relevant for the use of dye probes to monitor changes of organic inter…
Adhesion and adhesion hysteresis of mica surfaces covered with bola-amphipiles in dry and humid air
Abstract Bola-amphiphiles with spherical hydrophilic chinuclidinium head groups form laterally ordered monolayers on mica by adsorption from solution. To measure the surface adhesion, JKR-type compression/decompression cycles have been performed with the surface forces apparatus (SFA). In an inert atmosphere, the adhesion energy on increasing the contact area is much lower than predicted by wetting experiments. Furthermore, the pronounced adhesion hysteresis varies from sample to sample in a wide range, indicating a defect-rich surface. On increase of the relative humidity (rh), the reproducibility improves and the values for the adhesion energy measured on compression and decompression con…