Contamination analysis of polymer surface by ART FT-IR microspectroscopy

Surface contamination (i.e., dust and thin film) was characterized by the novel slide-on diamond, uIRE, and slide-on Ge uIRE. Due to the small sampling area of the tip, a sample with small size can be analyzed. In this work, characterizations of polymer surface contamination by the slide-on diamond uIRE and the slide-on Ge uIRE were studied. The contaminants on the surface of sample were analyzed. Contamination on a surface can be deposited onto the tip of both uIREs by directly deposition, or by using an organic liquid (i.e., mineral oil or fluorolube) to pick-up the contaminants from the surface. This novel sampling technique was called the "contact and collect" technique. This technique is non-destructive, ease to operate, does not require an additional sample preparation, and the result is accurate and reliable. The trace contaminants on a surface can be separated from the substrate, and characterized under the ATR mode without any interference from the substrate. The observed phenomenon suggested that the "contact-and-collect" operation with the slide-on diamond and slide-on Ge uIRE have the great potential for surface contamination, and forensic analysis.