An optical fiber was dip-coated in a sol-gel. How do I measure the thickness of this film ? I am expecting the coating to be around 1-2 microns. Is AFM a viable option (taking into consideration of the curvature of the surface, and the thickness itself)?
It is simpler to use a perfilometer such as that of a conventional roughness tester, even mechanical or optical. You can just place the fiber on a flat surface and carefully wash the coating in a segment of the fiber using an ethanol embedded cotton. Easy.
It is a very rough method but you may get the thickness of coating by taking the SEM image of the side profile after vertically (gently) scratching the coating. If you use a EDX attached microscope it will be easier to discriminate the different chemical layer if the brightness of the layer wont be enough to notice. İ thing you may be able to find the exact value by taking different images of the scratch ares while rolling it.
Hi Subhabrata, ultramicrotomy for TEM cross section investigations would also work, compare:
Article Preparation of ceramic fibre TEM cross-sections using ultram...
Article A modular programme for the preparation of inhomogeneous mat...
You can use ellipsometry and you should be able to characterize the layer thickness
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