SIMPLIFIED PHOTOMETRIC ELLIPSOMETER

A NEW INSTRUMENT IS PROPOSED FOR THE STUDY OF MONOMOLECULAR ORGANIC FILMS. THIS INSTRUMENT CONSISTS OF AN IMAGING ELLIPSOMETER VIEWFINDER AND A ONE-SPOT THICKNESS-MEASURING PHOTOMETER VISIBILE IN THE VIEWFINDER. WITH THE VIEWFINDER,MONOMOLECULAR PROTEIN SPOTS COULD BE SEEN ON THE SURFACE OF A SLIDE, SO THAT SAMPLE HOMOGENEITY AND QUALITY COULD BE ASSESSED BEFORE THE PHOTOMETER IS USED. THE SIZE OF DIFFUSION ZONES OR A PARTICULAR FEATURE IN A LARGE SURFACE AREA MIGHT BE SEEN. THE PHOTOMETER WILL HAVE AN AIMING INDEX IN THE EYEPIECE, AND USE THE INTENSITY AT THAT POINT TO MEASURE FILM THICKNESS (OR THE MASS OF THE ORGANIC FILM). OPERATION WILLBE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD, WITH A COMPUTER CONVERTING LIGHT INTENSITY OR ORGANIC MASS. A CCD CAMERA AND AN IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM WILL BE SUBSTITUTED FOR THE SINGLE PHOTODIODE IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE TECHNIQUE. THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE SUITABLE FOR AUTOMATION AND UNATTENDED OPERATION, WHILE RETAINING FULL MANUAL CAPABILITIES. IT WILL BE ABLE TO MEASURE ALL MONOMOLECULAR PROTEIN FILMS, AND SCREEN ANTIBODY-PRODUCING HYBRIDOMAS FOR PRODUCTION QUALITY AND ANTIBODY PROPERTIES AMONG OTHER APPLICATIONS.