Abstract

A spatially periodic voltage was used to create a dielectrophoresis induced periodic micro wrinkle deformation on the surface of a liquid film. Optical Coherence Tomography provided the equilibrium wrinkle profile at submicron accuracy. The dynamic wrinkle amplitude was derived from optical diffraction analysis during sub-millisecond wrinkle formation and decay, after abruptly increasing or reducing the voltage, respectively. The decay time constant closely followed the film thickness dependence expected for surface tension driven viscous levelling. Modelling of the system using numerical solution of the Stokes flow equations with electrostatic forcing predicted that wrinkle formation was faster than decay, in accord with observations.

Highlights

  • The ability to create a uniformly flat film of a viscous liquid on a solid surface is important in a wide range of coating, painting, and varnishing applications [1,2], including microelectronics manufacturing [3,4], architecture and decoration [5], and protection and art conservation [6,7]

  • We demonstrate that Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging can be used to make precise measurements of a static wrinkle deformation profile on the liquid surface in equilibrium, with sub-micrometer axial resolution

  • We first demonstrate the use of Optical Coherence Tomography imaging to measure the surface profile of a static periodic surface wrinkle deformation on the spread liquid film

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Summary

Introduction

The ability to create a uniformly flat film of a viscous liquid on a solid surface is important in a wide range of coating, painting, and varnishing applications [1,2], including microelectronics manufacturing [3,4], architecture and decoration [5], and protection and art conservation [6,7]. Such films are susceptible to distortions of the liquid-air interface occurring during initial shaping, for example as brush strokes while painting, or after deposition, for example due to substrate roughness [8] or due to an impinging air flow over the film [9]. Distortions in which Lc > p are dominated by surface tension driven levelling and distortions for which Lc < p are primarily levelled by gravitational effects [11]

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