title: Nanoscale rippling on polymer surfaces induced by AFM manipulation.
abstract: Nanoscale rippling induced by an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip can be observed after performing one or many scans over the same area on a range of materials, namely ionic salts, metals, and semiconductors. However, it is for the case of polymer films that this phenomenon has been widely explored and studied. Due to the possibility of varying and controlling various parameters, this phenomenon has recently gained a great interest for some technological applications. The advent of AFM cantilevers with integrated heaters has promoted further advances in the field. An alternative method to heating up the tip is based on solvent-assisted viscoplastic deformations, where the ripples develop upon the application of a relatively low force to a solvent-rich film. An ensemble of AFM-based procedures can thus produce nanoripples on polymeric surfaces quickly, efficiently, and with an unprecedented order and control. However, even if nanorippling has been observed in various distinct modes and many theoretical models have been since proposed, a full understanding of this phenomenon is still far from being achieved. This review aims at summarizing the current state of the art in the perspective of achieving control over the rippling process on polymers at a nanoscale level.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Struttura della Materia, ISM-CNR, via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome; Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione, ISTI-CNR, via Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Acunto
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, INO-CNR, via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dinelli
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio NEST, Scuola Normale Superiore and Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR, Piazza San Silvestro 12, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Pasqualantonio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pingue
keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); films; nanomanipulation; nanomechanics; polymers; ripples