Frozen capillary waves on glass surfaces : an AFM study

• Published in: The European physical journal. B, Condensed matter physics Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 121 - 126
• Main Authors: SARLAT, T, LELARGE, A, SØNDERGARD, E, VANDEMBROUCQ, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Les Ulis Springer 01-11-2006; Berlin EDP sciences; Springer-Verlag
• Subjects: Condensed Matter; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Exact sciences and technology; Interface structure and roughness; Other; Physics; Solid surfaces and solid-solid interfaces; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Atomic force microscopy; Liquid solid interface; Annealing; Statistical analysis; Spatial correlation; Roughness; Glass; Silica; Solidification; Capillary waves; Surface waves; Interfacial tension; Float glass; Scaling laws; AFM; glass; surface; capillary waves
• ISSN: 1434-6028; 1434-6036
• DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2006-00420-6

Using atomic force microscopy on silica and float glass surfaces, we give evidence that the roughness of melted glass surfaces can be quantitatively accounted for by frozen capillary waves. In this framework the height spatial correlations are shown to obey a logarithmic scaling law; the identification of this behaviour allows to estimate the ratio $kT_F/\pi\gamma$ where $k$ is the Boltzmann constant, $\gamma$ the interface tension and $T_F$ the temperature corresponding to the ``freezing'' of the capillary waves. Variations of interface tension and (to a lesser extent) temperatures of annealing treatments are shown to be directly measurable from a statistical analysis of the roughness spectrum of the glass surfaces.