Electrohydrodynamic instability of thin conductive liquid films

This paper considers the effect of surface charges on the surface instability of thin conductive liquid films. A characteristic relation is obtained for determining the wave number of the fastest growing mode as a function of surface tension, dispersive van der Waals force, and electrostatic tractions exerted by the film surface charges. Two natural length scales of the microsystem are further introduced to account for the coupling effects on the dewetting pattern development. The present results can be used for controlled surface pattern modulation in a spinodal-dewetting scenario via amplification of surface waves of selected modes.