Spontaneous formation of complex and ordered structures on oxygen-plasma-treated elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane

In this letter, we describe the spontaneous formation of complex and ordered structures on polydimethylsiloxane when subjected to oxygen plasma treatment. Periodicity of wavy structures from submicrometer to micrometer length scales could be generated reproducibly and quantitatively accounted for. The origin of these patterns could be related to the relief of compressive stress by buckling of the silica-like thin film that was formed as a result of the plasma exposures. Atomic force microscope has been used to characterize the varied trends of the modifications. The present approach could be extended to the fabrication of intricate ordered patterns on polymeric surfaces with integrated relief structures obtained by soft lithography and micromolding. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)04006-7].