Thin Film Production of Plastic/Polymer Materials Using the Mini-Film Maker Accessory from Specac: Part 2 of 3

The ATR technique is a surface measurement of a sample type with a typical penetration depth of ~2 microns into the sample surface using a diamond (or ZnSe) crystal, giving an effective pathlength measurement distance of ~4.5 microns for a single reflection event of the sample area under study. From an ATR measurement of a plastic/polymer type sample, the sensitivity of the measurement for the effective pathlength allowed may be insufficient to determine any specific sample constituents in the makeup of the polymer material that are present at a low concentration. Therefore it may be necessary to create a thin film of the plastic/polymer sample for transmission study from a suitable film making accessory such as the Specac Mini-Film Maker Kit as shown in this application note.