Abstract
| - Using large-area (cm2) single-crystal mica sheets as the templating substrate, we have created correspondingly largetemplate-stripped (TS) gold films (thickness 82 ± 2 nm) that appear smooth to within 0.2 nm rms roughness overtheir entire area. These gold films, created without the use of any releasing solvent, are characterized using AFM,X-ray diffraction, multiple beam interferometric fringes of equal chromatic order (FECO), and contact anglemeasurements. Being molecularly smooth over large areas and (adjustably) semitransparent, these films are especiallysuitable for use in the surface force balance (SFB), as shown by measurements of the normal force (F) versus distance(D) profiles between such a flat gold surface and a bare mica surface in water. The F(D) profiles are in good agreementwith DLVO theory down to molecular contact and indicate that the gold surface is negatively charged under water.
|