Understanding and controlling the three-dimensional structure of block copolymer (BCP) thin films is critical for utilizing these materials for sub-20 nm nanopatterning in semiconductor devices, as well as in membranes and solar cell applications. Combining an atomic layer deposition (ALD)-based technique for enhancing the contrast of BCPs in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) together with scanning TEM (STEM) tomography reveals and characterizes the three-dimensional structures of poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) thin films with great clarity. Sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS), a block-selective technique for growing inorganic materials in BCPs films in an ALD tool and an emerging technique for enhancing the etch contrast of BCPs, was harnessed to significantly enhance the high-angle scattering from the polar domains of BCP films in the TEM. The power of combining SIS and STEM tomography for three-dimensional (3D) characterization of BCP films was demonstrated with the following cases: self-assembled cylindrical, lamellar, and spherical PS-b-PMMA thin films. In all cases, STEM tomography has revealed 3D structures that were hidden underneath the surface, including (1) the 3D structure of defects in cylindrical and lamellar phases, (2) the nonperpendicular 3D surface of grain boundaries in the cylindrical phase, and (3) the 3D arrangement of spheres in body-centered-cubic (BCC) and hexagonal-closed-pack (HCP) morphologies in the spherical phase. The 3D data of the spherical morphologies was compared to coarse-grained simulations and assisted in validating the simulations' parameters. STEM tomography of SIS-treated BCP films enables the characterization of the exact structure used for pattern transfer and can lead to a better understating of the physics that is utilized in BCP lithography.

The interfacial interactions between late transition metal/metal oxide nanoparticles and oxide supports impact catalysts’ activity and stability. Here, we report the use of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), electron microscopy and density functional theory (DFT) to explore periodic trends in the heats of nanoparticle-support interactions for late transition metal and metal oxide nanoparticles on layered niobate and silicate supports. Data for Co(OH)2, hydroxyiridate-capped IrOx.nH2O, Ni(OH)2, CuO, and Ag2O nanoparticles were added to previously reported data for Rh(OH)3 grown on nanosheets of TBA0.24H0.76Ca2Nb3O10 and a layered silicate. ITC measurements showed stronger bonding energies in the order Ag < Cu ≈ Ni ≈ Co < Rh < Ir on the niobate support, as expected from trends in M-O bond energies. Nanoparticles with exothermic heats of interaction were stabilized against sintering as revealed by temperature resolved images recorded using transmission electron microscopy. In contrast, ITC measurements showed endothermic interactions of Cu, Ni, and Rh oxide/hydroxide nanoparticles with the silicate and poor resistance to sintering. These trends in interfacial energies were corroborated by DFT calculations using single-atom and four-atom cluster models of surface-bound metal/metal oxide nanoparticles. Density of states and charge density difference calculations reveal that strongly bonded metals (Rh, Ir) transfer d-electron density from the adsorbed cluster to niobium atoms in the support; this mixing is absent in weakly binding metals, such as Ag and Au, and in all metals on the layered silicate support. The large differences between the behavior of nanoparticles on niobate and silicate supports highlight the importance of d-orbital interactions between the nanoparticle and support in controlling the nanoparticles’ stability.

Surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs), the surface-bound electromagnetic modes of a polar material resulting from the coupling of light with optic phonons, offer immense technological opportunities for nanophotonics in the infrared (IR) spectral region. However, once a particular material is chosen, the SPhP characteristics are fixed by the spectral positions of the optic phonon frequencies. Here, we provide a demonstration of how the frequency of these optic phonons can be altered by employing atomic-scale superlattices (SLs) of polar semiconductors using AlN/GaN SLs as an example. Using second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy, we show that the optic phonon frequencies of the SLs exhibit a strong dependence on the layer thicknesses of the constituent materials. Furthermore, new vibrational modes emerge that are confined to the layers, while others are centered at the AlN/GaN interfaces. As the IR dielectric function is governed by the optic phonon behavior in polar materials, controlling the optic phonons provides a means to induce and potentially design a dielectric function distinct from the constituent materials and from the effective-medium approximation of the SL. We show that atomic-scale AlN/GaN SLs instead have multiple Reststrahlen bands featuring spectral regions that exhibit either normal or extreme hyperbolic dispersion with both positive and negative permittivities dispersing rapidly with frequency. Apart from the ability to engineer the SPhP properties, SL structures may also lead to multifunctional devices that combine the mechanical, electrical, thermal, or optoelectronic functionality of the constituent layers. We propose that this effort is another step toward realizing user-defined, actively tunable IR optics and sources.

Sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) is a process derived from ALD in which a polymer is infused with inorganic material using sequential, self-limiting exposures to gaseous precursors. SIS can be used in lithography to harden polymer resists rendering them more robust towards subsequent etching, and this permits deeper and higher-resolution patterning of substrates such as silicon. Herein we describe recent investigations of a model system: Al2O3 SIS using trimethyl aluminum (TMA) and H2O within the diblock copolymer, poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA). Combining in-situ Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy, quartz-crystal microbalance, and synchrotron grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering with high resolution scanning transmission electron microscope tomography, we elucidate important details of the SIS process: 1) TMA adsorption in PMMA occurs through a weakly-bound intermediate; 2) the SIS kinetics are diffusion-limited, with desorption 10× slower than adsorption; 3) dynamic structural changes occur during the individual precursor exposures. These findings have important implications for applications such as SIS lithography.

The atomic-scale reduction mechanism of α-Fe2O3 nanowires by H2 was followed using transmission electron microscopy to reveal the evolution of atomic structures and the associated transformation pathways for different iron oxides. The reduction commences with the generation of oxygen vacancies that order onto every 10th (303false¯0) plane. This vacancy ordering is followed by an allotropic transformation of α-Fe2O3 → γ-Fe2O3 along with the formation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the surface of the γ-Fe2O3 nanowire by a topotactic transformation process, which shows 3D correspondence between the structures of the product and its host. These observations demonstrate that the partial reduction of α-Fe2O3 nanowires results in the formation of a unique hierarchical structure of hybrid oxides consisting of the parent oxide phase, γ-Fe2O3, as the one-dimensional wire and the Fe3O4 in the form of nanoparticles decorated on the parent oxide skeleton. We show that the proposed mechanism is consistent with previously published and our density functional theory results on the thermodynamics of surface termination and oxygen vacancy formation in α-Fe2O3. Compared to previous reports of α-Fe2O3 directly transformed to Fe3O4, our work provides a more in-depth understanding with substeps of reduction, i.e., the whole reduction process follows: α-Fe2O3 → α-Fe2O3 superlattice → γ-Fe2O3 + Fe3O4→ Fe3O4.

Self-Assembly Understanding the 3D structure of self-assembled block copolymer fi lms is essential to their applications in nanolithography. The 3D microdomain structure of a block copolymer consisting of polydimethylsiloxane cylindrical domains in a polystyrene matrix, templated by posts, is determined by TEM tomography. The cylinders form a cross-point array (left), which is compared with the predictions of self-consistent fi eld theory (right). www.afm-journal.deAdv. Funct. Mater. 2014, 24, 7564-7569

We demonstrate quantitative core-loss electron energy-loss spectroscopy of iron oxide nanoparticles and imaging resolution of Ag nanoparticles in liquid down to 0.24 nm, in both transmission and scanning-transmission modes, in a novel, monolithic liquid cell developed for the transmission electron microscope (TEM). At typical SiN membrane thicknesses of 50 nm the liquid layer thickness has a maximum change of only 30 nm for the entire TEM viewing area of 200 μm × 200 μm.

In situ environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) experiments require specimen heating holders to study material behavior in gaseous environments at elevated temperatures. In order to extract meaningful kinetic parameters, such as activation energies, it is essential to have a direct and accurate measurement of local sample temperature. This is particularly important if the sample temperature might fluctuate, for example when room temperature gases are introduced to the sample area. Using selected-area diffraction (SAD) in an ETEM, the lattice parameter of Ag nanoparticles was measured as a function of the temperature and pressure of hydrogen gas to provide a calibration of the local sample temperature. SAD permits measurement of temperature to an accuracy of ± 30 °C using Ag lattice expansion. Gas introduction can cause sample cooling of several hundred degrees celsius for gas pressures achievable in the ETEM.