  Spin coating of thin films of viscous liquids on a rotating substrate is a
core technological component of semiconductor microchip fabrication. The
thinning dynamics is influenced by many physical processes. Specifically
temperature gradients affect thin liquid films through their influence on the
local fluid surface tension. We show here experimentally and numerically that
adding a static temperature gradient has a significant effect on the
equilibrium film thickness and height profile reached in spin coating. Our
results suggest that thermal gradients can be used to control film height
profile dynamics.
