Infrared-Laser-Induced Thermocapillary Deformation and Destabilization of Thin Liquid Films on Moving Substrates

Abstract

``Clean'' dewetting, in which a liquid completely withdraws from a surface and leaves no trace, is very desirable in immersion lithography and solution processing of organic electronics. To this end, the authors study thermocapillary deformation by shining an infrared laser on thin liquid films on moving substrates. On a partially wettable substrate the film tends to become unstable, and for certain ranges of laser power and substrate speed it ruptures in a single location and subsequently dewets, without leaving residual droplets.