Elastic Moduli of Ultrathin Amorphous Polymer Films

The elastic moduli of ultrathin poly(styrene) (PS) and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) films of thickness ranging from 200 nm to 5 nm were investigated using a buckling-based metrology. Below 40 nm, the apparent modulus of the PS and PMMA films decreases dramatically, with an order of magnitude decr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMacromolecules Vol. 39; no. 15; pp. 5095 - 5099
Main Authors Stafford, Christopher M, Vogt, Bryan D, Harrison, Christopher, Julthongpiput, Duangrut, Huang, Rui
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC American Chemical Society 25.07.2006
Subjects
Applied sciences
Exact sciences and technology
Mechanical properties
Organic polymers
Physicochemistry of polymers
Properties and characterization
Ultrathin films
Elastic modulus
Size effect
Mechanical properties
Methyl methacrylate polymer
Styrene polymer
Measurement method
Experimental study
Buckling test
Thin film
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Summary:The elastic moduli of ultrathin poly(styrene) (PS) and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) films of thickness ranging from 200 nm to 5 nm were investigated using a buckling-based metrology. Below 40 nm, the apparent modulus of the PS and PMMA films decreases dramatically, with an order of magnitude decrease compared to bulk values for the thinnest films measured. We can account for the observed decrease in apparent modulus by applying a composite model based on the film having a surface layer with a reduced modulus and of finite thickness. The observed decrease in the apparent modulus highlights issues in mechanical stability and robustness of sub-40 nm polymer films and features.
ISSN:0024-9297
1520-5835
DOI:10.1021/ma060790i