title: Novel nanobubble inflation method for determining the viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polymer films.
abstract: We describe a novel experimental technique for measuring the viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polymer films. The method is based on the classic bubble inflation technique for measuring the biaxial creep compliance of films, reduced in size to measure films with thicknesses down to at least 13 nm. The method uses the imaging capabilities of the atomic force microscope to determine the time evolution of the geometry of nanobubbles. Using these data, along with the applied pressure, the absolute creep compliance of the films can be determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, USA.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: McKenna
mesh_terms: D004548:Elasticity; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers