Near-Field Optical Imaging of Microphase Separated and Semi-Crystalline Polymer Systems

Published

January 1, 2002

Author(s)

Michael J. Fasolka, Lori S. Goldner, A Urbas, Jeeseong C. Hwang, Kathryn Beers, P DeRege, Evan L. Thomas

Abstract

Polymer self-assembly presents an attractive means of creating the micro- and nano-patterned spatial arrays required for many opto-electronic and coatings technologies. Two of these ordering processes are microphase separation (MS), exhibited by block copolymers, and crystallization, common in many polymer species. In this work, we present optical micrographs of block copolymer MS morphology and thin-film polymer crystallites having sub-diffraction-limit resolution ( 100nm) as afforded by Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy (NSOM). Images obtained via transmission aperture NSOM and polarization-modulated (PM) NSOM, which yields the local dichroism and birefringence, will be discussed. These images provide insights into the structure and local optical properties of these specimens, resolved at the level of single microphase domains and defects.

Citation

Microscopy and Analysis

Volume

Quebec City

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

block copolymer, NSOM, photonic, polarimetry, SNOM

Citation

Fasolka, M. , Goldner, L. , Urbas, A. , Hwang, J. , Beers, K. , DeRege, P. and Thomas, E. (2002), Near-Field Optical Imaging of Microphase Separated and Semi-Crystalline Polymer Systems, Microscopy and Analysis, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852003 (Accessed October 7, 2025)