Instability of nanostructures patterned in polystyrene under high electric field gradients

▶ Surface of polystyrene 150-nm films remains stable within 320 h. ▶ Instability of nanostructures patterned with AFM-assisted electrostatic nanolithography in annealed samples may be associated with electric charge dissipation on polystyrene surfaces. ▶ Relaxation of nanostructures in non-annealed films happens within several minutes and is accompanied by non-local surface deformations.