= Solution
With identical A-selective boundaries, stress-free parallel stacks favour approximately integer multiples of $L_0$. An arbitrary imposed thickness generally cannot preserve both the bulk period and those terminations everywhere.
\b[A small mismatch can be accommodated by compressing or stretching the lamellae.] A larger mismatch can favour terraces, islands or holes with locally commensurate heights, separated by steps of roughly $L_0$. For example, a mean height $\overline h=2.35L_0$ can be assembled from regions of heights $2L_0$ and $3L_0$, with area fraction $f=0.35$ at the larger height:
$$
\overline h=(1-f)(2L_0)+f(3L_0).
$$
The cartoon shows this volume-conserving alternative. Which response wins depends on elastic stretching energy, surface energies, lateral constraints, thickness mismatch and equilibration time. If the substrate and processing permit it, dewetting or a different domain orientation can also occur; an arbitrary thickness does not prove that a single specific terrace pattern must form.
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