Thin film rupture and polymer flow.
An account is given of the current state of understanding the rupture of ultrathin polymer films (<100 nm), mostly based on polystyrene (PS) on Si or SiO-substrates. These systems have proved to be an ideal testing ground for the concepts of hydrodynamics of confined systems in which intermolecular interactions play a driving role. The focus of the article is on the highly successful comparison of experimental investigations with theoretical descriptions of these model systems.
Blossey
Ralf
R
Interdisciplinary Research Institute, Lille University of Science and Technology, CNRS USR 3078, IBL, 1, rue Calmette, 59021 Lille Cedex, France. ralf.blossey@iri.univ-lille1.fr