Pattern formation in a polymer thin film induced by an in-plane electric field

The use of an in-plane electric field to induce morphological patterns in a thin polymer film was reported. The thin polymer film was first spin coated onto a glass wafer and then heated to above its glass transition temperature to achieve mobility in the fluid. The pattern formation to a combined machanism of minimization of combined interface energy and electrostatic energy was attributed. It was shown that the formations of islands in a thinner film depletes neighboring materials and starts nonlinear evolution earlier in the process.