Regensburg 1998 – scientific programme

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O: Oberflächenphysik

O 34: Poster (II)

O 34.100: Poster

Thursday, March 26, 1998, 20:00–22:30, Bereich C

Observation of nano-dewetting structures — •P. M"uller-Buschbaum, J.S. Gutmann, C. Lorenz, and M. Stamm — Max-Planck-Institut f"ur Polymerforschung, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz (Germany)

We have studied the dewetting of thin polymer films (polystyrene) on top of different silicon substrates. With diffuse x-ray scattering and scanning-force microscopy a high in-plane resolution was achieved. Besides the well known mesoscopic dewetting structures of drops with diameters in the range of several micrometers we detect a further morphological feature. Depending on the thickness of the native silicon oxide layer, inside the dewetted areas small dimples are formed. This nano-dewetting structure can be understood as the result of the dewetting of a remaining ultra-thin film and is compared with theoretical predictions of spinodal decomposition [1]. This observation of another length scale provides some new aspects on the molecular mechanism of polymer dewetting.

[1] P. M"uller–Buschbaum, P. Vanhoorne, V. Scheumann, M. Stamm; Europhys.Lett., in press