Price, Duncan M.; Reading, Michael; Lever, Trevor; Furry, John; Micro-thermal analysis of single and multilayer polymer films. Proc. 26th North American Thermal Analysis Society Conference, September 13-15 (1998) Cleveland, Ohio, USA, p. 646
Micro-Thermal Analysis (µTA™) is a new technique for the characterization of materials by studying the distribution and thermal properties of the microscopic components of a sample. The technique combines the visualization power of atomic force microscopy (AFM) with the characterization capabilities of thermal analysis (TA).
One important application for which this new technique provides unique information is in the characterization of films, particularly multilayer films or films containing additives for processing or end use properties.
Films can be characterized by scanning for areas of topography, thermal conductivity or thermal diffusivity that indicate different components or areas of differing thermal characteristics and then doing very fast thermal characterization of the microscopically identified area with an effective volume of approximately one cubic micron. The films can be studied not only on the surface, but also cross sections to characterize the individual layers, adhesion boundaries, and gradients in the physical state of the material as a result of processing or aging.