Ordering of microwrinkle patterns by compressive strain

Abstract

We describe a reversible response of complex wrinkle patterns on Pt-coated elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane to lateral compressive strain. The complex wrinkle stripe patterns composed of convex and concave parts with an almost constant wavelength of 1.1 \ensuremath{\mu}m are ordered in the strain direction and return to the original ordering with hysteresis when the strain is relaxed. The ordered domains grow via the rearrangement of the stripe orientation of neighbors, merge with each other, and finally cover a large area of the surface as strain increases.