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Brewster Angle Microscope
A Brewster angle microscope (BAM) is a microscope for studying thin films on liquid surfaces, most typically Langmuir films. In a Brewster angle microscope, both the microscope and a polarized light source are aimed towards a liquid surface at that liquid's Brewster angle, in such a way for the microscope to catch an image of any light reflected from the light source via the liquid surface. Because there is no ''p''-polarized reflection from the pure liquid when both are angled towards it at the Brewster angle, light is only reflected when some other phenomenon such as a surface film affects the liquid surface. The technique was first introduced in 1991. Applications Brewster angle microscopes enable the visualization of Langmuir monolayers or adsorbate films at the air-water interface for example as a function of packing density. They can be used either to study the properties of the Langmuir layer, or to indicate a suitable deposition pressure for Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brewster Angle Microscope
A Brewster angle microscope (BAM) is a microscope for studying thin films on liquid surfaces, most typically Langmuir films. In a Brewster angle microscope, both the microscope and a polarized light source are aimed towards a liquid surface at that liquid's Brewster angle, in such a way for the microscope to catch an image of any light reflected from the light source via the liquid surface. Because there is no ''p''-polarized reflection from the pure liquid when both are angled towards it at the Brewster angle, light is only reflected when some other phenomenon such as a surface film affects the liquid surface. The technique was first introduced in 1991. Applications Brewster angle microscopes enable the visualization of Langmuir monolayers or adsorbate films at the air-water interface for example as a function of packing density. They can be used either to study the properties of the Langmuir layer, or to indicate a suitable deposition pressure for Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microscope
A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisible to the eye unless aided by a microscope. There are many types of microscopes, and they may be grouped in different ways. One way is to describe the method an instrument uses to interact with a sample and produce images, either by sending a beam of light or electrons through a sample in its optical path, by detecting photon emissions from a sample, or by scanning across and a short distance from the surface of a sample using a probe. The most common microscope (and the first to be invented) is the optical microscope, which uses lenses to refract visible light that passed through a thinly sectioned sample to produce an observable image. Other major types of microscopes are the fluorescence microscope, electron microscope (both the transmi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thin Film
A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer (monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many applications. A familiar example is the household mirror, which typically has a thin metal coating on the back of a sheet of glass to form a reflective interface. The process of silvering was once commonly used to produce mirrors, while more recently the metal layer is deposited using techniques such as sputtering. Advances in thin film deposition techniques during the 20th century have enabled a wide range of technological breakthroughs in areas such as magnetic recording media, electronic semiconductor devices, integrated passive devices, LEDs, optical coatings (such as antireflective coatings), hard coatings on cutting tools, and for both energy generation (e.g. thin-film solar cells) and storage ( thin-film batteries). It is also being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liquid
A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, and plasma), and is the only state with a definite volume but no fixed shape. A liquid is made up of tiny vibrating particles of matter, such as atoms, held together by intermolecular bonds. Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Most liquids resist compression, although others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly constant density. A distinctive property of the liquid state is surface tension, leading to wetting phenomena. Water is by far the most common liquid on Earth. The density of a liquid is usually close to that of a solid, and much higher than that of a gas. Therefore, liquid and solid are both termed condensed matte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Langmuir–Blodgett Film
A Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) film is a nanostructured system formed when Langmuir films—or Langmuir monolayers (LM)—are transferred from the liquid-gas interface to solid supports during the vertical passage of the support through the monolayers. LB films can contain one or more monolayers of an organic material, deposited from the surface of a liquid onto a solid by immersing (or emersing) the solid substrate into (or from) the liquid. A monolayer is adsorbed homogeneously with each immersion or emersion step, thus films with very accurate thickness can be formed. This thickness is accurate because the thickness of each monolayer is known and can therefore be added to find the total thickness of a Langmuir–Blodgett film. The monolayers are assembled vertically and are usually composed either of amphiphilic molecules (see chemical polarity) with a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail (example: fatty acids) or nowadays commonly of nanoparticles. Langmuir–Blodgett films ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polarization (waves)
Polarization (also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. A simple example of a polarized transverse wave is vibrations traveling along a taut string ''(see image)''; for example, in a musical instrument like a guitar string. Depending on how the string is plucked, the vibrations can be in a vertical direction, horizontal direction, or at any angle perpendicular to the string. In contrast, in longitudinal waves, such as sound waves in a liquid or gas, the displacement of the particles in the oscillation is always in the direction of propagation, so these waves do not exhibit polarization. Transverse waves that exhibit polarization include electromagnetic waves such as light and radio waves, gravitational waves, and transverse sound waves (shear waves) in solids. An electromagnetic wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brewster Angle
Brewster's angle (also known as the polarization angle) is an angle of incidence at which light with a particular polarization is perfectly transmitted through a transparent dielectric surface, with ''no reflection''. When ''unpolarized'' light is incident at this angle, the light that is reflected from the surface is therefore perfectly polarized. This special angle of incidence is named after the Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster (1781–1868). Explanation When light encounters a boundary between two media with different refractive indices, some of it is usually reflected as shown in the figure above. The fraction that is reflected is described by the Fresnel equations, and depends on the incoming light's polarization and angle of incidence. The Fresnel equations predict that light with the ''p'' polarization ( electric field polarized in the same plane as the incident ray and the surface normal at the point of incidence) will not be reflected if the angle of incidence i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
P-polarized
Polarization (also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. A simple example of a polarized transverse wave is vibrations traveling along a taut string ''(see image)''; for example, in a musical instrument like a guitar string. Depending on how the string is plucked, the vibrations can be in a vertical direction, horizontal direction, or at any angle perpendicular to the string. In contrast, in longitudinal waves, such as sound waves in a liquid or gas, the displacement of the particles in the oscillation is always in the direction of propagation, so these waves do not exhibit polarization. Transverse waves that exhibit polarization include electromagnetic waves such as light and radio waves, gravitational waves, and transverse sound waves (shear waves) in solids. An electromagnetic wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanoparticle Deposition
Nanoparticle deposition refers to the process of attaching nanoparticles to solid surfaces called substrates to create coatings of nanoparticles. The coatings can have a monolayer or a multilayer and organized or unorganized structure based on the coating method used. Nanoparticles are typically difficult to deposit due to their physical properties. Challenges Nanoparticles can be made from different materials such as metals, ceramics and polymers. The stability of the nanoparticles can be an issue as nanoparticles have a tendency to lower their very high surface energy, which originates from their high surface-to-bulk ratio. Bare nanoparticles tend to stabilize themselves either by sorption of molecules from the surroundings or by lowering the surface area through coagulation and agglomeration. Usually the formation of these aggregates is unwanted. The tendency of a nanoparticle to coagulate can be controlled by modifying the surface layer. In a liquid medium, suitable ligand mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brewster's Angle
Brewster's angle (also known as the polarization angle) is an angle of incidence at which light with a particular polarization is perfectly transmitted through a transparent dielectric surface, with ''no reflection''. When ''unpolarized'' light is incident at this angle, the light that is reflected from the surface is therefore perfectly polarized. This special angle of incidence is named after the Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster (1781–1868). Explanation When light encounters a boundary between two media with different refractive indices, some of it is usually reflected as shown in the figure above. The fraction that is reflected is described by the Fresnel equations, and depends on the incoming light's polarization and angle of incidence. The Fresnel equations predict that light with the ''p'' polarization (electric field polarized in the same plane as the incident ray and the surface normal at the point of incidence) will not be reflected if the angle of incidence is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microscopes
A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisible to the eye unless aided by a microscope. There are many types of microscopes, and they may be grouped in different ways. One way is to describe the method an instrument uses to interact with a sample and produce images, either by sending a beam of light or electrons through a sample in its optical path, by detecting photon emissions from a sample, or by scanning across and a short distance from the surface of a sample using a probe. The most common microscope (and the first to be invented) is the optical microscope, which uses lenses to refract visible light that passed through a thinly sectioned sample to produce an observable image. Other major types of microscopes are the fluorescence microscope, electron microscope (both the transmi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_250_nm_by_250_nm_image_of_one-atom-thick_silver_islands_grown_on_palladium_(111)_surface.png "Click for more on -> Thin Film")
