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Local determination of thin liquid film profiles using colour interferometry

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Abstract.

We explore theoretically the interference of white light between two interfaces as a function of the optical conditions, using separately: a) idealised conditions where the light is composed of three discrete wavelengths; b) a more typically experimentally realisable case where light comprises a sum of three Gaussian wavelength distributions; and c) unfiltered white light from a broadband source comprising a broad distribution of wavelengths. It is demonstrated that the latter case is not only optically simple to arrange, but also provides unambiguous absolute separation information over the range 0-1μm --a useful range in studies of cell adhesion, thin liquid films and lubrication-- when coupled to detection using a typical colour camera. The utility of this technique is verified experimentally by exploring the air film between a cylinder and surface, as well as arbitrary liquid films beneath air bubbles that are interacting with solid surfaces.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry, Monash University, 3800, Clayton, Australia

    Calum S. Butler, Zoe L.E. Seeger, Toby D.M. Bell & Rico F. Tabor

  2. School of Physics, Monash University, 3800, Clayton, Australia

    Alexis I. Bishop

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  1. Calum S. Butler
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  2. Zoe L.E. Seeger
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  3. Toby D.M. Bell
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  4. Alexis I. Bishop
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  5. Rico F. Tabor
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Correspondence to Rico F. Tabor.

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Butler, C., Seeger, Z., Bell, T. et al. Local determination of thin liquid film profiles using colour interferometry. Eur. Phys. J. E 39, 14 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2016-16014-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2016-16014-9

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