Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026
06:54
Author Spotlight: Advances in Nanoscale Infrared Spectroscopy to Explore Multiphase Polymeric Systems
Published on: June 23, 2023
1.5K
Revealing Buried Thermal Responses in Polymer Multilayers Using Photothermal Mirror Infrared Spectroscopy
Yide Zhang1,2, Nelson G C Astrath1,3, Lena Neubauer1,2
1Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Technische Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria.
Applied Spectroscopy
|May 5, 2026
Summary
The photothermal mirror infrared (PTM-IR) technique unexpectedly enhances signals with thicker overlayers, unlike conventional methods. This breakthrough allows for non-destructive depth-resolved characterization of buried layers in multilayer materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Depth-resolved characterization of buried layers is vital for understanding multilayer material properties.
- Conventional photothermal techniques face signal attenuation with increasing overlayer thickness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate that the photothermal mirror infrared (PTM-IR) technique shows enhanced signals with increasing overlayer thickness.
- To develop a quantitative model for predicting photothermal signal behavior in multilayer systems.
- To establish PTM-IR as a tool for non-destructive subsurface characterization.
Main Methods:
- Combined finite-element analysis (FEA) and one-dimensional analytical modeling using Green's function formalism.
- Experimental validation using poly(methyl methacrylate)-polystyrene (PMMA-PS) bilayers on CaF2 substrates.
- Photothermal Mirror Infrared (PTM-IR) spectroscopy.
Main Results:
- PTM-IR signal transient increases with overlayer thickness due to enhanced thermal confinement and surface displacement.
- FEA and analytical models accurately predict temperature and surface displacement dynamics.
- Excellent agreement between experimental measurements and theoretical predictions was achieved.
Conclusions:
- PTM-IR is a non-destructive infrared technique for probing buried absorbers.
- The technique allows for the determination of both absorber and overlayer thicknesses.
- PTM-IR extends the capabilities of photothermal methods for deeper subsurface characterization.
Related Concept Videos
01:43Thermosensation
29.7K
Peripheral thermosensation is the perception of external temperature. A change in temperature (on the surface of the skin and other tissues) is detected by a family of temperature-sensitive ion channels called Transient Receptor Potential, or TRP, receptors. These receptors are located on free nerve endings. Those detecting cold temperatures are closer to the surface of the skin than the nerve endings detecting warmth. These thermoTRP channels, while temperature selective, have relatively...
29.7K
01:05Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy
11.0K
Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy or TIRF is an advanced microscopic technique used to visualize fluorophores in samples close to a solid surface with a higher refractive index, such as a glass coverslip. TIRF only allows fluorophores in proximity to the solid surface to be excited. When light from a medium with a lower refractive index (such as air) hits the glass coverslip at a critical angle, the light undergoes total internal reflection stead of passing through the glass.
11.0K