Collective behavior of block copolymer thin films within periodic topographical structures

Abstract

We perform a systematic study of the effect of adjacent nanostructures on the confinement of block copolymers (BCP) within pre-patterned trenches in 100 nm thick SiO2 films. Asymmetric PS-b-PMMA BCP with a styrene fraction of 0.71, Mn = 67100 are used. When deposited in the form of thin film, these BCP naturally self-organize upon annealing and form a PS matrix with hexagonally packed PMMA cylinders perpendicularly oriented with respect to the substrate. An accurate study of the confinement of this BCP thin film within isolated trenches is performed as a function of their width (80-260 nm). In this specific configuration the confinement of the BCP thin film within the pre-patterned structures has only been partially achieved. The effect of adjacent trenches on the arrangement of the BCP thin film is investigated using parallel trenches periodically distributed on the surface. The effective confinement of the BCP film is strongly modified by the periodicity of the pre-patterned structures.

Thermodynamics and ordering kinetics in asymmetric PS-b-PMMA block copolymer thin films

“…24 Moreover, reduced L 0 and effective ordering are crucial for the exploitation of BCPs as a valuable technological platform for the fabrication of dense and ordered nanostructures. [25][26][27][28][29][30][31] All these fundamental and practical characteristics make such a system very interesting to investigate.…”

Fabrication of well-ordered arrays of silicon nanocrystals using a block copolymer mask

“…b. A systematic study of this kind allows us to gain a complete control of the fabrication parameters useful for the correct confinement of the nanoporous mask in the trenches . Indeed we can reach perfect mask deposition inside much thinner structures than in the case of isolated ones.…”

Graphoepitaxy of Symmetric Six‐Arm Star‐Shaped Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐block‐Polystyrene Copolymer Thin Film

“…[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Also, to obtain a long-range ordering of BCP microdomains on a substrate, the BCP self-assembly is combined with geometrical confinement, so-called graphoepitaxy, which is referred to as the directed self-assembly (DSA). [21,22,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Confinement of the BCPs can allow the control of the orientation of microdomains by adjusting the affinity between walls and blocks. [37][38][39][40][41][42] Nealey and co-workers showed a distinct change in the orientation of lamellae or cylinders by changing the affinity between the blocks and the bottom and (or) the side wall of a trench.…”