Propagation of Thin-Film Rupture at the Atomic Scale

The propagation of rupture in thin-films is a surface tension driven phenomenon which can be described by the Taylor-Culick law. We examine this classical theory for freely suspended films with atomic-scale thickness. Employing non-equilibrium molecular dynamics with a Lennard-Jones fluid, the growth rate of induced and spontaneously generated holes on a thin film is measured. The terminal speed or equivalently, the film retraction rate, as predicted by Taylor and Culick, is observed to be independent of the initial conditions in the long-time limit. However, at the atomic scale, the retraction rate is slower, a trend predicted in the literature for nanoscopic films. Previous observations of an exponential early time growth regime are confirmed for induced holes, but we show that interestingly this regime is absent for films that break spontaneously due to thermal effects. This indicates the potential of atomic simulation in providing fresh insight into the mechanism and dynamics of film rupture.