3D TEM Tomography of Templated Bilayer Films of Block Copolymers

Published

December 23, 2014

Author(s)

Kevin W. Gotrik, Thomas F. Lam, Adam F. Hannon, Wubin Bai, Jonathan P. Winterstein, Alfredo Alexander-Katz, James Alexander Liddle, Caroline A. Ross

Abstract

Transmission electron microscope (TEM) tomography was used to visualize the morphology and 3D connectivity of a lithographically-templated, self-assembled bilayer film of cylinder-forming 45.5 kg/mol polystyrene-block-polydimethylsiloxane. The structure, formed after a 5 minute solvothermal anneal, was imaged with a resolution of ≅3 nm in 3D, enabling a comparison between measurement and self-consistent mean-field theory (SCFT) calculations. In addition to the general agreement between modeled and measured dimensions, the tomography revealed connections between the orthogonal layers of cylinders at their crossing point, a key model prediction. Validation of the SCFT model, even under solvothermal annealing conditions, suggests that it can be used to predict the detailed nanoscale structure of features created by directed self-assembly (DSA) with confidence, which is essential in developing nanomanufacturing processes based on DSA.

Citation

Advanced Functional Materials

Volume

24

Issue

48

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201402457

Local Download

Keywords

polystyrene-polydimethylsiloxane, 3D TEM Tomography, 3D Self-Assembly, Block Copolymer, Directed Self Assembly, Self-Consistent Field Theory, Model Validation

Citation

Gotrik, K. , Lam, T. , Hannon, A. , Bai, W. , Winterstein, J. , Alexander-Katz, A. , Liddle, J. and Ross, C. (2014), 3D TEM Tomography of Templated Bilayer Films of Block Copolymers, Advanced Functional Materials, [online], https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201402457, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=915861 (Accessed October 16, 2025)