Amplitude scaling of a static wrinkle at an oil-air interface created by dielectrophoresis forces

Dielectrophoresis forces have been used to create a static periodic wrinkle with a sinusoidal morphology on the surface of a thin layer of 1-decanol oil. The surface deformation occurs when a voltage V is applied between adjacent coplanar strip electrodes in an interdigitated array onto which the oil film is coated. It has been shown experimentally that the peak-to-peak amplitude A of the wrinkle scales according to the functional form A proportional to V(2) exp(-alpha(h) over bar /p) for a range of oil film thicknesses (h) over bar (between 15 and 50 mu m) and wrinkle pitches p (160, 240, and 320 mu m). (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3525708]