There is a great need for the analysis of the chemical composition, structure, functional groups and interactions at polymer–metal interfaces in terms of adhesion, corrosion, and insulation. Although atomic-force-microscopy-based infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR) can provides chemical analysis with nanoscale spatial resolution, it generally requires to thin a sample to be placed on a substrate that has low absorption of infrared light and high thermal conductivity, which is often difficult for samples that contain hard materials like metals. This study demonstrates that the combination of AFM-IR with low-angle microtomy (LAM) sample-preparation can analyze buried polymer–metal interfaces with higher spatial resolution than that with the conventional sample-preparation of a thick vertical cross-section. In the LAM of a polymer layer on a metal substrate, the polymer layer is tapered to be thin in the vicinity of the interface, and thus, sample thinning is not required. An interface between an epoxyacrylate layer and copper wire in a flexible printed circuit cable was measured using this method. A carboxylate interphase layer with a thickness of ~130 nm was clearly visualized at the interface, and its spectrum was obtained without any signal contamination from the neighboring epoxyacrylate, which was difficult to achieve on a thick vertical cross-section. The combination of AFM-IR with LAM is a simple and useful method for high-spatial-resolution chemical analysis of buried polymer–metal interfaces.

非常需要分析化学成分，结构，官能团和聚合物-金属界面上的粘附，腐蚀和绝缘方面的相互作用。尽管基于原子力显微镜的红外光谱（AFM-IR）可以提供具有纳米级空间分辨率的化学分析，但通常需要将样品稀薄放置在具有低红外光吸收和高导热率的基板上，这对于包含诸如金属之类的硬质材料的样品，通常很难做到。这项研究表明，AFM-IR与低角度显微切片术（LAM）样品制备相结合可以比传统的厚垂直截面样品制备方法分析具有更高空间分辨率的埋藏聚合物金属界面。在金属基板上的聚合物层的LAM中，聚合物层在界面附近逐渐变细以变薄，因此不需要样品薄化。使用这种方法测量了挠性印刷电路电缆中环氧丙烯酸酯层和铜线之间的界面。在界面处可以清晰地看到厚度约为130 nm的羧酸中间层，其光谱得到的光谱没有相邻邻环氧丙烯酸酯的任何信号污染，这很难在较厚的垂直截面上实现。AFM-IR与LAM的结合是一种简单有效的方法，用于对埋藏的聚合物-金属界面进行高空间分辨率的化学分析。使用这种方法测量了挠性印刷电路电缆中环氧丙烯酸酯层和铜线之间的界面。在界面处可以清晰地看到厚度约为130 nm的羧酸中间层，其光谱没有相邻的环氧丙烯酸酯的任何信号污染，这很难在较厚的垂直截面上实现。AFM-IR与LAM的结合是一种简单有效的方法，用于对埋藏的聚合物-金属界面进行高空间分辨率的化学分析。使用这种方法测量了挠性印刷电路电缆中环氧丙烯酸酯层和铜线之间的界面。在界面处可以清晰地看到厚度约为130 nm的羧酸中间层，其光谱没有相邻的环氧丙烯酸酯的任何信号污染，这很难在较厚的垂直截面上实现。AFM-IR与LAM的结合是一种简单有效的方法，用于对埋藏的聚合物-金属界面进行高空间分辨率的化学分析。这在较厚的垂直截面上很难实现。AFM-IR与LAM的结合是一种简单有效的方法，用于对埋藏的聚合物-金属界面进行高空间分辨率的化学分析。这在较厚的垂直截面上很难实现。AFM-IR与LAM的结合是一种简单有效的方法，用于对埋藏的聚合物-金属界面进行高空间分辨率的化学分析。