03 cam200

Excellence in Surface Chemistry

CAM 200

Optical Contact Angle/
Surface Tension Meter


The Modular CAM 200
– Optical Contact Angle and Surface Tension Meter

KSV's CAM 200 is a fully computer controlled
instrument based on video capture of images and
automatic image analysis for measuring static or
dynamic contact angles, surface or interfacial tensions of liquids, surface free energies, and absorption of liquids into porous materials. The
open and user friendly design of CAM 200 makes
it just as suitable for measurements in the R&D
lab as on a production line.

Applications

Key Features

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• Easy and automatic determination of
surface/interfacial tension, contact angles,
absorption and surface free energy
• Static and dynamic measurements
• Complete Curve fitting based on
Young - Laplace equation
• LED based background lighting
• WindowsTM software for 2000/XP
• Image based trigger
• Highly accurate

Surfactants, Soaps & Detergents
Emulsions
Polymers
Pharmaceuticals
Sprays, Paints & Coatings
Paper, Film & Ink products
Cosmetics
Textiles
Food industry
Surface treatments
Cleanliness

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Why measure contact angle
and surface tension?
In order to meet the challenges of the future in
improving our quality of life and protecting our
environment, the development of new surfaceengineered materials and products are the focus
of many fields of todays scientific research.
Precise characterisation of material surfaces and
liquids plays a vital role in development of new,
better performing products with improved
qualities. Measurement of contact angles and
surface/interfacial tensions provides a better understanding of the interactions between solids

and liquids or liquids/liquids. These interactions
play a key role in understanding adhesion, material
wettability, biocompatibility, lubricity of solid surfaces as well as the wetting, washability, spreading
and adsorption of liquids. Contact angle and surface/interfacial tension measurements provide
the information needed for the development
and modification of liquid and solid surfaces
using todays sophisticated surface engineering
techniques.

Gas

Contact angle
Contact angle , θ, is the angle formed by a liquid at the
three phase boundary where a liquid, gas and solid intersect.
The shape of the drop is controlled by the three forces
of interfacial tension shown in the figure above. θ is a
quantitative measure of the wetting of a solid by a liquid,
but it can also be used as a quality control measure in

surface treatments and surface cleanliness.

Advancing

Surface tension
Surface tension, γ, arises because the molecules inside a
liquid are affected by equal attraction forces in all directions,
whereas the molecules at the surface have larger attraction
forces towards the liquid than air. A spontaneous contraction
of the surface will therefore take place. γ is an extremely
sensitive indicator providing information on the washability,
wetting, emulsification and other surface related processes.

Receding

Static & Dynamic contact angles
A sessile drop on a solid substrate gives the static contact
angle. The value of the static contact angle is found to
depend on the recent history of the interaction. An
alternative method is to determine the Dynamic contact
angles. If the three phase (liquid/solid/vapor) boundary is
in motion the angles produced are called 'advancing' and
'receding' angles. The angles can then be determined by
fitting an equation to the shape of the drop and calculating
the slope of the tangent at the three phase boundary line.

Pendant drop
The pendant drop method offer a convenient way to
determine the surface tension of a liquid (gas/liquid interface)
or the interfacial tension between two liquids (liquid/liquid

interface). In the pendant drop method the surface/interfacial
tension is determined by analyzing the shape of the drop
of liquid hanging from the tip of a syringe. The CAM200
fits the Young-Laplace equation to the drop image for
calculation of surface and interfacial tensions. This technique
is extremely accurate and can be performed at elevated
temperatures and pressures.


The Modular CAM 200

To the basic frame...

A choice of high-performance ca

You add

A manual or automatic sample st

And a manual or automatic liquid

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meras, of different speeds and magnification

tage

d dispenser and vertical positioner

...and your instrument
is ready!


How to measure contact angle
and surface tension with CAM 200?
CAM 200 uses drop shape analysis for determining static or dynamic contact angles, absorption
and surface/interfacial tensions of liquids. The
software for image analysis runs in all supported
WindowsTM operating systems (2000/XP). Two
factors are critical to the accurate measurement
of contact angles and surface/ interfacial tensions
by optical techniques; image quality and method
of image analysis. Image quality depends on the
lighting source, lens and image capture of the
instrument. CAM 200 utilizes a unique monochromatic light source which generates the
highest quality images with minimal sample heating.
The telecentric lens and high resolution CCD
camera insure that these images are captured

and transferred to the software without distortion
or degeneration. Image analysis is performed on
the image stored to your computer. The drop
profile is extracted from the stored image with
subpixel accuracy. This profile is then curve fitted
to the Young-Laplace equation. The entire fitted
curve may then be used to calculate contact angle
or surface tension. This approach represents an
important advance over traditional calculation
of these parameters from drop images. Circular,

polynomial and Bashford-Adams approaches (also
available in the software) utilize only parts of the
drop profile and may often produce erroneous
results, especially for contact angles of large drops.

Sessile Drop (or Raised Drop / Bubble)
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Pendant Drop (Raised Drop / Bubble)
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Surface/interfacial tension, static and dynamic
Critical micelle concentration
Drop volume
Interfacial rheology
(with PDA 100 drop oscillator)

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Advancing & receding contact angle

Absorption
Wetting
Drop volume
Drop area
Length of the drop baseline
Height of droplet
Surface free energy


CAM Series Software
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WindowsTM software for 2000/XP
Images and results stored to database for easy retrieval
Live image on screen
Frame-by-frame or movie playback of recorded images
Liquid database with up to 100 entries

Calculations
• Contact angle (static, advancing & receding)
• Surface / interfacial tension (pendant drop & raised drop)
• Drop volume
• Base length, height and area of drop
Drop profile extraction and baseline
• Special algorithm searches drop profile with sub-pixel accuracy
• Automatic baseline detection

Fitting methods
Drop profile fitted with
• Young-Laplace equation. Provides exact calculation of all parameters,
including contact angles of large drops
• Bashforth-Adams. For pendant drop measurements. Database fitting
depending on comparison of drop cross-section at two positions
• Circle. Rapid fit for contact angles. Suitable only for small drops
• Polynomial. Used for contact angle calculations. Especially for advancing and receding contact angle studies
Surface free energy calculations
Separate software offers 9 different methods to evaluate surface free energy of solids:
• Zisman Plot (critical surface tension)
• OWRK
• Simple Fowkes (geometric mean)
• Extended Fowkes
• Wu (harmonic mean)
• van Oss Acid-Base
• Equation of State
• Schultz 1
• Schultz 2
Image based trigger
• Recording can be turned on when drop touches the sample or leaves the needle
• Triggering based on information seen on screen, no separate hardware is needed

CAM 200 Features and Specifications
Standard for all instruments is the convenient One Touch Dispenser (OTD) allowing simple and reproducible drop placement
for contact angle measurements.
Specifications
Measuring ranges
Inaccuracy
Maximum sample size

Frame interval
Max. Measuring speed
Resolution
Camera
Light source
Computer requirements

0...180°, 0.01...999 mN/m
± 0.1°, ± 0.01 mN/m
Unlimited x 150 x 150 mm
2 ms*-1000 s
30, 60 or 100 full frames per second (*up to 420 fps at reduced resolution)
512x480 pixels (*512x150 pixels)
Firewire CCD camera with telecentric zoom optics
LED based background lighting
PC with minimum 2GHz speed, 128 MB RAM, 16 MB RAM on up-to-date
display card, WindowsTM 2000/XP with up-to-date service packs

CAM 200 Accessories
• A range of automatic dispensers
- single liquid
- 4 liquids
- disposable tip autopipette
• Automatic dispensing positioner for contact angle measurement
• Automatic sample stage with movement in one direction
• Environmental and interfacial measuring chambers
• Thermal measuring chamber (RT to 250°C)
• Tilt stage (for adv. and rec. contact angle meas.)
• Computer with pre-installed software
• High speed camera

• Filter to reduce effect of ambient light

Optical Standards - lithographically
printed glass slides for verifaction of
calibration of pendant drop and sessile
drop measurements. Prepared
according to ISO 9001:2000
standards and verified by
certified national laboratory.


The Company
KSV Instruments Ltd is a leading global provider of routine,
research and characterization instruments for surface chemistry
and Langmuir-Blodgett film applications. Our headquarters are
in Helsinki, Finland and we have offices in North America and
Sweden and trained representatives throughout the world.

Interfacial
Characterization
With Sigma tensiometers and CAM Drop Shape Analysis
contact angle meters and their various modifications KSV
covers most of the known interfacial measurement techniques.
All instruments utilize the latest technological advances in
measurement of surface/ interfacial tension of liquids as well
as contact angles and surface free energies.

Langmuir Film
Preparation and
Characterization

Ranging from manual, educational instruments to fully equipped
high performance R&D grade multi/alternating layer LB-troughs
KSV offers the widest range of Langmuir systems in the world.
KSV’s BAM (Brewster Angle Microscope) and ISR (Interfacial
Shear Rheometer) are used for characterization of Langmuir
and LB films in a wide variety of nanotechnology, biology and
molecular engineering applications.

Dip Coating
A wide variety of dip-coaters for exacting applications, from
single manual dippers to automatic multiple dipping devices.

Process Control
KSV makes a range of at-line (AL) and on-line (OL) process
control tools for monitoring surface tension, temperature, pH,
viscosity and conductivity. An option also exists for automatic
dosing of surfactants.

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KSV Instruments Ltd
Höyläämötie 7
00380 Helsinki
FINLAND

Tel. +358-9-5497-3300
Fax +358-9-5497-3333
e-mail:

KSV Instruments USA

P.O. Box 192
Monroe, CT 06468
USA

Tel. +1-800-280 6216
+1-203-268-1745
Fax +1-203-459-0437
e-mail: