Electric field induced instabilities at liquid/liquid interfaces

External electric fields were used to amplify thermal fluctuations at the i nterface between two thin liquid films. Similar to the results shown previo usly for the enhancement of fluctuations at the polymer/air interface, inte rfacial fluctuations having a well-defined wavelength were enhanced with a characteristic growth rate. A simple theoretical framework to describe the experimental observations is presented. Both experiment and model calculati on show a substantial reduction in feature size as a result of the change i n surface/interfacial energy when going from the thin film to the bilayer c ase. Experimentally, features develop nearly 50 times faster for the bilaye rs in comparison to the polymer/air case. These results point to a simple r oute by which the nanoscopic feature can be easily and rapidly produced or replicated. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.