Thin Solid Films, Vol.284-285, 436-438, 1996
Detection of Phase-Transitions in Thin-Films with a Quartz-Crystal Microbalance
The quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is used to determine the phase transition point of thin films by measuring the change in frequency as a function of temperature. To elucidate this relationship, two types of polymers were studied where the bulk phase transitions were known. We investigated a casted thin film of an amphiphilic polyoxazoline and a Langmuir-Blodgett film comprised of fifteen double lavers of an amphotropic polyacrylate. The phase transition points of the thin films could be detected by the QCM which were in the same range as for the bulk materials.
Keywords:LIQUID-CRYSTALS