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PUBLICATIONS

Elastic Moduli of Ultrathin Amorphous Polymer Films

Published

Author(s)

Christopher Stafford, C Harrison, D Julthongpiput, B D. Vogt

Abstract

The elastic moduli of ultrathin poly(styrene) and poly(methylmethacrylate) 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. The observed decrease in apparent modulus can be accounted for by 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.
Citation
Macromolecules
Volume
39 No 15
Pub Type
Journals

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Keywords

buckling, mechanical properties, mechanics, metrology, modulus, polymers, thin films, ultrathin
Polymers, Composition and structure and Biomaterials

Citation

Stafford, C. , Harrison, C. , Julthongpiput, D. and Vogt, B. (2006), Elastic Moduli of Ultrathin Amorphous Polymer Films, Macromolecules, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852485 (Accessed October 22, 2025)

Issues

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Created June 30, 2006, Updated October 12, 2021
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