SEM of etched layers

Performed SEM today on the etched samples.  The sample with 30 seconds of etching and the spheres removed showed a difference in height from the surrounding surface and where the spheres were.  With a longer etching time pillars might be clearer.  The SEM with the 50 nm spheres showed that there were monolayers but that their coverage was about even with that of multi-layers.  A conclusion that has been reached from this is that when using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, at least with the parameters that we are using (solvent ratio, barrier speed and withdrawal speed) that the smaller the spheres the more difficult it is to control the monolayer coverage.  I'm a little nervous that after all this that the surface of the pillars might be insufficiently smooth for surfactant studies with AFM.  We will continue with this until we have pillars that show that separation in between the spheres is possible, which will come from etching for at least longer than 30 seconds before we think about trying another masking technique to create the nanostructures.