Behavior of Lamellar Forming Block Copolymers under Nanoconfinement: Implications for Topography Directed Self-Assembly of Sub-10 nm Structures

Autor: Andrew K. Whittaker, Todd R. Younkin, Idriss Blakey, Anguang Yu, Imelda Keen, Han-Hao Cheng, Michael J. Leeson, Kevin S. Jack
Rok vydání: 2013
Předmět:
Zdroj: Macromolecules. 47:276-283
ISSN: 1520-5835
0024-9297
DOI: 10.1021/ma4019735
Popis: Directed self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) is a promising technique for the nanofabrication of structures with dimensions smaller than what can be achieved by current photolithography approaches. In particular, there has been significant interest in the development of BCPs that can achieve ever smaller feature sizes with low levels of defects. Here we investigate the directed self-assembly of a high-χ BCP, polystyrene-block-poly(dl-lactide), which is capable of producing structures with dimensions less than 10 nm. In addition, we study the behavior of the BCP under nanoconfinement and the ability of the polymer chains to compress and stretch in response to the geometry of the confining volume. Key findings of this study are that the level of defects in the self-assembled structures are strongly related to the relative interfacial interactions of the BCP as well as the degree of frustration of the polymer chains under nanoconfinement relative to the bulk. These results have particular significance f...
Databáze: OpenAIRE