Vv. Tsukruk et Dh. Reneker, SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPY OF ORGANIC AND POLYMERIC FILMS - FROM SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS TO COMPOSITE MULTILAYERS, Polymer, 36(9), 1995, pp. 1791-1808
We discuss the results of scanning probe microscopy studies of the sur
face morphology of ordered molecular films from organic low-molecular-
mass and polymeric compounds. Films considered include: self-assembled
monolayers, Langmuir-Blodgett films and composite molecular films fab
ricated from different organic compounds. Several aspects of these sys
tems are revealed: their nanoscale surface morphology, typical natural
ly occurring defects of the surfaces and molecular-scale ordering. Sur
face modification of soft organic materials during scanning with the a
tomic force microscopy (AFM) tip is considered as well. For various cl
asses of ordered molecular films, application of the AFM technique and
other scanning probe techniques such as lateral force microscopy prod
uce a new level of in situ quantitative characterization of molecular
films on micrometre, submicrometre and molecular scales.