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In situ and ex situ SAXS investigation of colloidal sedimentation onto laterally patterned support
(2009)
We report on in situ investigations of colloidal ordering during gravity sedimentation from a colloidal suspension onto a prepatterned support using a polymeric surface relief grating (SRG) as the support. The ordering of colloids with a diameter of 420 nm was investigated by means of grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and transmission SAXS using a preparation cell guaranteeing stable temperature and humidity. GISAXS was used for in situ monitoring of the time evolution of colloidal ordering within the whole illuminated sample area. The onset of ordering was indicated by the increase of integrated intensity within a small time frame shortly before complete evaporation of the dispersant. Single domains of coated samples were investigated ex situ by SAXS in transmission geometry where the irradiated sample area was 200 x 200 mu m(2) only. Domains with the typical size of a few millimeters were observed varying in orientation and crystallographic structure for various positions at the sample. They were mainly oriented along the grooves of the grating, confirming the influence of the underlying grating on colloidal ordering.
Thin azobenzene polymer films show a very unusual property, namely optically induced material transport. The underlying physics for this phenomenon has not yet been thoroughly explained. Nevertheless, this effect enables one to inscribe different patterns onto film surfaces, including one- and two-dimensional periodic structures. Typical sizes of such structures are of the order of micrometers, i.e. related to the interference pattern made by the laser used for optical excitation. In this study we have measured the mechanical properties of one- and two-dimensional gratings, with a high lateral resolution, using force-distance curves and pulse force mode of the atomic force microscope. We also report on the generation of considerably finer structures, with a typical size of 100 nm, which were inscribed onto the polymer surface by the tip of a scanning near-field optical microscope used as an optical pen. Such inscription not only opens new application possibilities but also gives deeper insight into the fundamentals physics underlying optically induced material transport