Instabilities in Patterned Polymer Surfaces

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The research objective of this award is to elucidate the nature of the instabilities in nano-patterned polymer surfaces. Compared with the elastic or viscous instabilities that have been actively studied in planar polymer films, the viscoelastic instabilities in patterned polymer surfaces remain largely unexplored, and are far more complex due to the multiple variables that can affect their characteristics. The proposed study, combining experimental and theoretical work, will result in a clear understanding on the scientific underpinning of the pattern instabilities, including their boundary conditions, scaling relationships for characteristic wavelength and onset time, the role of nano-fabrication parameters, and materials properties. If successful, the results of this research will benefit applications of patterned polymer surfaces, which are critical components to many technologies. Thorough understanding of the instabilities in patterned polymer surface will pave the way for high fidelity pattern fabrications and enable post-fabrication processes that utilize solvents and thermal annealing. These instabilities, once understood, will also offer a unique avenue to create novel hierarchical structures that are otherwise challenging to fabricate with parallel lithographic techniques. This award will provide educational benefits to K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students by directly involving them into the research. The grant will also facilitate curriculum for a materials degree program which offers opportunity for students in the front range of rocky mountain area. The results of the research will be incorporated as topics and modules into courses, as well as broadly disseminated through journal publications, national conferences and TeachEngineering digital library.