Thin film rupture and polymer flow

Abstract

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.