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Crumpling of a thin film leads to a unique stiff yet lightweight structure. The stiffness has been attributed to a complex interplay between four basic elements - smooth bends, sharp folds, localized points (developable cones), and…
This paper describes a method to determine the complex permittivity of a thin dielectric film from finite element analysis and microstrip line measurements. Two transmission line equivalent circuit models were used for the cases of an…
Soft materials capable of large inelastic deformation play an essential role in high-performance nacre-inspired architectured materials with a combination of stiffness, strength and toughness. The rigid "building blocks" made from glass or…
The accurate measurement of fracture resistance in elastomers is essential for predicting the mechanical limits of soft devices. Usually, this is achieved by performing tearing or peeling experiments on thin-sheet samples. Here, we show…
Buckled membranes become ever more important with further miniaturization and development of ultra-thin film based systems. It is well established that the bulge test method, generally considered the gold standard for characterizing…
Dewetting of ultrathin (< 100 nm) polymer films, by heating above the glass transition, produces droplets of sizes of the order of microns and mean separations between droplets of the order of tens of microns. These relatively large length…
In granular media, the presence of even small amounts of interparticle cohesion manifests as an increase in the bulk strength and stiffness, effects that are typically associated with an increase in the average number of constraints per…
Liquid crystal films have recently been demonstrated as variable thickness, planar targets for ultra-intense laser matter experiments and applications such as ion acceleration. By controlling the parameters of film formation, including…
When a flexible plate is peeled off a thin and soft elastic film bonded to a rigid support, uniformly spaced fingering patterns develop along their line of contact. While, the wavelength of these patterns depends only on the thickness of…
We present a simple method for accessing the elastic properties of microscopic deformable particles. This method is based on measuring the pressure-induced deformation of soft particles as they are forced through a tapered glass…
A simple position-dependent body force-based confinement for simulating triaxial tests using the Discrete Element Method is presented. The said method is used to perform triaxial simulations on mono-disperse and segregated assemblies of…
Polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride thin films are explored as sample supports for extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectroscopy of molecular transition metal complexes. Thin polymer films prepared by slip-coating are flat, smooth, and transmit…
We demonstrate a simple and quick method for the measurement of the in-plane thermal conductance of thin films via steady-state IR thermography. The films are suspended above a hole in an opaque substrate and heated by a homogeneous visible…
1.8 micrometer-thick magnesium hydride films were synthesized in a single-step process by reactive plasma-assisted sputtering. The MgH2 thin films, which were deposited on two types of flexible surfaces (namely graphite and polyimide foils)…
This paper addresses issues related to cracking and blisters in deposited films encountered in a lift-off process with electron beam evaporation and a bilayer PMMA resist system. The impact of charged particles, i.e. electrons and ions, is…
The glass transition temperature and its connection to statistical properties of confined and free-standing polymer films of varying thickness containing unentangled to highly entangled bead-spring chains are studied by molecular dynamics…
Characterizing the elastic properties of soft materials through bulge testing relies on accurate measurement of deformation, which is experimentally challenging. To avoid measuring deformation, we propose a hydrodynamic bulge test for…
Recent experiments have imposed controlled swelling patterns on thin polymer films, which subsequently buckle into three-dimensional shapes. We develop a solution to the design problem suggested by such systems, namely, if and how one can…
The growth of an elastic film adhered to a confining substrate might lead to the formation of delimitation blisters. Many results have been derived when the substrate is flat. The equilibrium shapes, beyond small deformations, are…
Superconducting MgB2 thin films were prepared on 50-micrometer-thick, flexible polyamide Kapton-E foils by vacuum co-deposition of Mg and B precursors with nominal thickness of about 100 nm and a special ex-situ rapid annealing process in…