Capillary Wave Dynamics of Thin Polymer Films over Submerged Nanostructures

K. J. Alvine, Y. Dai, H. W. Ro, S. Narayanan, A. R. Sandy, C. L. Soles, and O. G. Shpyrko

Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 207801 – Published 13 November 2012

Abstract

The surface dynamics of thin molten polystyrene films supported by nanoscale periodic silicon line-space gratings were investigated with x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. Surface dynamics over these nanostructures exhibit high directional anisotropy above certain length scales, as compared to surface dynamics over flat substrates. A cutoff length scale in the dynamics perpendicular to the grooves is observed. This marks a transition from standard over-damped capillary wave behavior to suppressed dynamics due to substrate interactions.

Received 6 April 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.207801

Authors & Affiliations

K. J. Alvine^1,2,*, Y. Dai³, H. W. Ro², S. Narayanan⁴, A. R. Sandy⁴, C. L. Soles^2,†, and O. G. Shpyrko^3,‡

¹Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, 99352, USA
²Polymers Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878, USA
³Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
⁴X-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA