What We Do (not a scientist? – click here)

The Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA) is a sophisticated research instrument for directly measuring static and dynamic forces between surfaces and for studying other interfacial and thin film phenomena at the molecular level. See our bullet-point flyer summarizing the unique capabilities of an SFA coupled with FECO (Fringes of Equal Chromatic Order) interferometry. The SFA has been used for many years to measure the physical forces between surfaces, such as van der Waals, Casimir, and electrostatic forces in vapors and liquids, adhesion and capillary forces, forces due to surface and liquid structure (e.g., solvation and hydration forces), polymer-mediated steric and depletion forces, hydrophobic interactions, protein-mediated bio-specific and biomembrane interactions, as well as friction and biolubrication forces.

The SurForce SFA has been designed to accommodate a number of patented attachments, and new attachments are continuously being developed. SurForce offers engineering design, prototype and testing services to support customization of existing product offerings and/or to to develop entirely new attachments to fulfill specific needs.

SurForce LLC was founded by Jacob Israelachvili in 2002 and is the only supplier of the Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA 3, SFA 2000 and our latest model- the μSFA). He was a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials at the University of California at Santa Barbara.