Major Equipment of Soft Condensed Matter Group at K-State

1.  Two custom built computer-controlled monochromatic phase-modulated Ellipsometers.

One is designed to study solid-liquid interfaces and is currently being used to examine bioadsorption. The other ellipsometer is designed to study horizontal liquid.

Both ellipsometers have an angular reslution of ~0.01 deg and a film thickness resolution of ~0.05 nm.  Sample ovens are available to be used with these ellipsometers (with thermal stability of ±0.1mK/4 hours and thermal gradients <1mK/cm).

2.  Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM):

(A)  Two Asylum Research AFMs: models MFP-1D and MFP-3D. Both with a closed loop control. MFP-1D AFM has hermetical sealing and good temperature control (stability of  >5mK over many hours).

(B)  Two complete, closed loop,Veeco AFMs with STM capabilities: Innova and CP-II. They have a top open configuration and thus are easy to couple with interferometry, Raman, etc.

(C)  A shared facility NanoScope III Multimode Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) from Veeco is also available in the Chemistry Department.

3.  Lasers , Optical Equipment, Spectrometers,

(A)  Two three-watt Ar+ lasers, a Q-switched Nd-YAG with 2nd and 3rd Harmonics, a 20 mW He Ne laser with and extensive optical equipment.

(B)  three optical goniometers and an ALV5000 correlator

(C)  a Spex 1403 0.85 double monochromator, UV-Vis spectrometer

4.  Light Scattering Equipment

A 10 channel, multiangle detection system, a 512 channel small angle light scattering apparatus.

5.  Extensive aerosol generation and combustion apparatus

Other resources:

Secretarial, computer services, machine shop, and electronic shop support are available for in the Physics Department. Glass blowing facilities are available in the Chemistry Department.