Spinodal Dewetting of Thin Polymer Films
1998; American Physical Society; Volume: 81; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1103/physrevlett.81.1251
ISSN1092-0145
AutoresRui Xie, Alamgir Karim, Jack F. Douglas, C. C. Han, R. A. Weiss,
Tópico(s)Heat Transfer and Boiling Studies
ResumoDewetting of polystyrene films on a silicon substrate is investigated as a function of film thickness $h$. We observe the nucleation of holes in the early stage of dewetting for relatively thick films $(h>100\AA{})$, as observed previously, but the breakup of thinner films occurs through the growth of uniformly distributed surface undulations (``spinodal dewetting''). The average amplitude $\ensuremath{\delta}h$ of these undulations increases exponentially up to the film rupture point where $\ensuremath{\delta}h$ becomes comparable to $h$, as predicted by a capillary wave instability model.
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