Elastic instability of rubber films between solid bodies

When the free surface of an elastic thin-film coating interacts with a solid wall, an instability occurs leading to an undulative surface corrugation and a characteristic pattern of contact of the rubber with the wall. We discuss in detail the dependence of the length scale of this pattern on the physical parameters of the rubber film, which may thereby be determined by inspection of the pattern. This instability might strongly a ect the properties of certain composite materials or bonding interfaces.