Microscopic surface patterning by rubbing induced dewetting

We demonstrate a method to fabricate microscopic topographic patterns over a large area. The idea is based on anisotropic dewetting of a previously rubbed polymer film. Two types of patterns are demonstrated. One contains well aligned parallel micro-grooves with widths and separations of about 1 μm. The other contains striped domains of micro-grooves oriented parallel and orthogonal to the stripes in alternation. Although the pattern formation had been demonstrated on 2×2 cm2 substrates, this method is scalable to any substrate size and could offer an attractive low-cost alternative to photolithography and soft lithography in very large area applications.