Review of new experimental techniques for investigating random sequential adsorption

Burgeoning interest in random sequential adsorption (RSA) processes has led to a surge of theoretical results, but experimental work is lagging behind, due to a dearth of suitable techniques. This article reviews integrated-optical techniques for investigating the kinetics of RSA and related processes. The basic idea is to measure the phase shifts of guided waves, due to the adsorption of particles at the surface of a planar waveguide. The technique is very well suited to investigating 2-dimensional RSA, and can yield high-quality kinetic adsorption data, precise enough for rigorously testing theoretical predictions. The current state of the art allow adsorbed mass to be measured quasicontinuously with a precision of at least 1 ng/cm².