Investigation of Plateau–Rayleigh Instability in Drawn Metal–Polymer Composite Fibers for Metamaterials Fabrication

We consider the drawing of composite metal-polymer fibers for wire array metamaterials fabrication. The metal is liquid during drawing and its surface tension results in diameter fluctuations, which lead to the metal breaking up into droplets, according to the Plateau-Rayleigh instability. For small fluctuations, we reconcile experimental results with a linear model for the instability adapted to fiber drawing. For larger fluctuations, we analyze the wavelength of fluctuations and observe sequential breakup on different length scales. An oxide layer is detected on the wires which may complicate surface interactions.