Dewetting of a fluorinated polymer on mica

Atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to investigate dewetting of a fluori nated polymer on mica. Thermally induced dewetting of thin films starts wit h formation of rims around small holes and grows as the sizes of the holes increase until the top layer forms stable, isolated droplets whose sizes hi ghly depend on the initial film thickness. A 6 nm thick layer of polymer, w hich is very stable during the annealing process, still covers the substrat e after surface dewetting.