Influence of electromechanical interaction on the morphological instability of an elastic conducting halfspace

The surface evolution of an elastic conducting material subject to a farfield uniform tensile stress in an electric field was analyzed by using the linear perturbation theory. A dispersion relation describing morphological evolution of the elastic material was derived, from which the critical wave number of surface perturbations was determined numerically. It turns out that the electrical surface stress on the surface of the solid can enhance or inhibit the morphological instability of the solid surface. Such morphological evolution is important for electric force microscopy and applications of nanoelectromechanical devices.