Study of leading factors in formation of surface wavy structures on a rubber material

Wavy structures are often observed on the surface of a rubber material (polydimethylsiloxane, PDMS) covered with a thin metallic film. In this study we demonstrate that the orientation, periodicity, location of formation, and range of periodicity of the wavy structures can be regulated by three leading factors including the surface pattern, substrate hardness and the thickness of the metallic film. Results show the orientation of the wavy structures can be adjusted by the location, shape and size of the surface patterns. Enhancement of the substrate hardness can prevent forming random wavy structures. The thickness of surface metallic film significantly influenced the periodicity of the structures. Experimental results revealed an increase of the thickness of surface Au film by 50 nm, the periodicity was increased roughly by 1 μm. A compound structure, combining longitudinally preset patterns and transversely induced wavy structures, and a parallel wavy structure fabricated, respectively, by suitable arrangement of pattern configurations and adjustment of substrate hardness were demonstrated. The relatively simple approaches proposed here show the potential application in fabrication of designated complicate structures.