Abstract: We described the appearance of complex, patterned structures induced by the buckling of metal thin films owing to thermal contraction on a polymer substrate. Polystyrene(PS) films with thickness of 100 μm were casted onto a glass substrate, and the Pt thin films with thickness of 30 nm were deposited onto the polymer surface. The sample films were heated above the glass transition temperature of PS. After cooling to ambient temperature, the disordered wrinkles generated over the whole surface. When we ablated the top metal thin film by laser before heating the polymer, the disordered bucking wrinkles would transfer into ordered ridges pattern. This patterning process is arresting and potentially useful to fabricate optical devices such as diffraction gratings and optical sensors.

Key words: PS/Pt polymer film, Patterning, Release of stress, Laser ablation