Controlled nanometer-scale surface roughening and its effect on the ordering and stability of liquid-crystalline polymer films

Communication: Control over surface texture in thin film production is nece ssary for preparing smooth films (e.g., for optical surfaces), but also whe re some roughening of the surface is required (e.g., patterning for liquid- crystalline display devices). These authors have found a way to control nan oscale roughening by adsorbing negatively charged colloidal silica particle s onto a positively charged polyelectrolyte preadsorbed onto a silicon wafe r. Using this method, model surfaces have been prepared which are then subs trates for liquid-crystalline polymers. The properties of these films (surf ace ordering and film stability) are compared with their smooth counterpart s.