EVOLUTION OF ORDER IN TOPOGRAPHICALLY TEMPLATED BLOCK COPOLYMER THIN FILMS

Brian Berry, Kevin Yager, Ronald Jones, Alamgir Karim

ABSTRACT:

Control of order and orientation in block copolymers (BCPs) is the major factor limiting their use in next generation technologies such as microelectronics or memory storage.  As a result of the high concentration of equilibrium defects in these systems, however, directing fields are needed to achieve the order and orientation required for many applications.  In particular, surface fields from topographically patterned substrates have shown great promise in the directed assembly of BCPs.  The measurement of the order and orientation within the templates, however, is difficult.  We will present our work on the development of scattering and microscopy based methods which provide a 3-dimensional picture of the orientational distribution within templated substrates.  Using these techniques, the effects of properties such as substrate surface energy, molecular weight, and chemical identity on the evolution of order and orientation within these templates can be studied.

Author Information:

Brian Berry (not a Sigma Xi member)

Mentors: Ronald Jones

Polymers Division

Bldg 224/B230

Mail Stop 8541

ph: 975-5696

fax: 975-3918

Category: Materials