Brillouin Scattering Studies of Polymeric Nanostructures

Published

March 1, 2004

Author(s)

R Hartschuh, A Mahorowala, Y Ding, J H. Roh, A Kisliuk, Alexei Sokolov, Christopher Soles, Ronald L. Jones, T J. Hu, Wen-Li Wu

Abstract

Polymers are now being patterned into nanometer-sized features via optical and/or imprint lithography for a range of applications, including semiconductors, Micro-Electro- Mechanical systems (MEMS), and Nano-Electro-Mechanical systems (NEMS). In these applications, robust mechanical properties of the nanostructures are critical for performance and stability. Brillouin light scattering is presented as a non-destructive, non-contact tool to quantify the elastic constants in such nanostructures. We demonstrate the first through a series of polystyrene films of thickness ranging from bulk-like down to 356 nm, and second through a series of parallel lines and spacings with line widths of 180 nm, 150 nm, and 110 nm. For the set of films and structures presented here, the room temperature elastic modulus does not change with either decreasing film thickness or line width, implying that confinement-induced shifts of the mechanical properties are not significant. In comparing the lines and smooth, featureless film, we also observe additional modes whose frequency split vary inversely with line width. While the nature of these new modes is not completely understood, it appears they can be interpreted as a lateral breathing mode of the line.

Citation

Journal of Polymer Science Part B-Polymer Physics

Volume

42

Issue

No. 6

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

brillouin scattering, elastic modulus, mechanical properties, nanostructures, thin films

Citation

Hartschuh, R. , Mahorowala, A. , Ding, Y. , Roh, J. , Kisliuk, A. , Sokolov, A. , Soles, C. , Jones, R. , Hu, T. and Wu, W. (2004), Brillouin Scattering Studies of Polymeric Nanostructures, Journal of Polymer Science Part B-Polymer Physics, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852210 (Accessed October 8, 2025)