Dewetting of thin polymer film on rough substrate: II. Experiment

Abstract

The theory of the dewetting process developed for a model of substrate–film interaction forces was examined by an experimental investigation of the dewetting process of thin polystyrene (PS) films on chemically etched silicon substrates. In the dependence on PS films thickness and silicon roughness, various situations of dewetting were observed as follows: (i) if the wavelength of the substrate roughness is much larger than the critical spinodal wavelength of a film, then spinodal dewetting of the film is observed; (ii) if the wavelength of the substrate roughness is smaller than the critical wavelength of the film and the substrate roughness is larger in comparison with film thickness, then the dewetting due to substrate roughness is observed and the dewetted film patterns repeat the rough substrate structure; (iii) if the wavelength of the substrate roughness is smaller than the critical wavelength of the film and the substrate roughness is small in comparison with the film thickness, then spinodal dewetting proceeds.