1 Background

Since its introduction in 1986 as a tool for imaging and creating three-dimensional micrographs with resolution down to the nanometer and angstrom scales, the scanning probe microscope (SPM) has increasingly been acclaimed as a quantitative probe of surface forces such as adhesion. The SPM is able to study these important parameters using a technique that measures forces on the probe as it approaches and retracts from a surface. The technique of measuring the adhesion force between the probe and the different organic contaminants and fluxes is established. To ensure accuracy of the adhesion force measured, the spring constant of each cantilever used in the force measurement was accurately determined by measuring the exact dimensions of the cantilever by means of the scanning electron microscope and the modulus determined using the nano-indentation system.