Submicrometer Pattern Fabrication by Intensification of Instability in Ultrathin Polymer Films under a Water–Solvent Mix

Dewetting of ultrathin ( ∼100 nm) droplets and their ordered arrays by room temperature dewetting of ultrathin polystyrene (PS) films by minimizing these limitations. This is achieved by controlled room temperature dewetting under an optimal mixture of water, acetone, and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). Diffusion of organic solvents in the film greatly reduces its glass transition temperature and the interfacial tension but enhances the destabilizing field by introduction of electrostatic force. The latter is reflected in a change in the exponent, n, of the instability length sc...