Examining polymeric materials with near-field optics

Scanning near-field optical microscopy has been used to study birefringent banded polymer spherulites. The bands and their sub-structure is seen to correlate directly with the topography verifying established spherulite morphology theories. Block co-polymer examination of a poly(styrene)-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) have revealed sharp contrast for dielectric structures. This contrast is thought to be due to topographic diffraction effects. Ring like structures seen in some of the near-field images are thought to correspond to the accepted structure of this polymer.