Additive manufacturing (AM) is a growing engineering paradigm that enables technicians to produce a wide range of intricate, prototypical parts. Among these are small-scale patterned electrodes for scientific micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).
Infrared spectroscopy, typically infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), is the favoured method used to characterise ultrathin layers like self-assembled monolayers. When infrared moves through a sample, some radiation is absorbed and some is transmitted. IR detectors acquire these characteristic signals to generate a spectrum which represents the sample’s molecular fingerprint. This highlights the inherent value of IR spectroscopy; it can be used to elucidate molecular compositions as a function of characteristic absorption/transmission spectra.