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Directed Self-Assembly of Thin Block Copolymer Films under Controlled Atmosphere

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Sangcheol Kim
Affiliation:
sangcheol.kim@nist.gov, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Polymers Division, 100 Bureau Dr., Mail Stop 8541, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, United States, 301 975 8337
R. M. Briber
Affiliation:
rbriber@umd.edu, University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College Park, MD, 20742-2115, United States
Alamgir Karim
Affiliation:
karim@nist.gov, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Polymers Division, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, United States
Ronald L. Jones
Affiliation:
ronald.jones@nist.gov, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Polymers Division, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, United States
Ho-Cheol Kim
Affiliation:
hckim@almaden.ibm.com, IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA, 95120, United States
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Abstract

We have developed a simple and fast methodology to control the orientation of cylindrical microdomains in thin block copolymer films under controlled atmosphere conditions. Asymmetric block copolymers of polystyrene and poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) were dissolved in toluene and spin coated with less than one minute exposure to different solvent vapors and controlled humidity. The specific choice of solvents was based on the polymer solubility parameters and the solvent vapor pressure. By controlling the spin coating environment we were able to produce cylinders with orientations ranging from parallel to perpendicular with respect to the substrate. Orientation was apparently controlled by the preferential affinity of the vapor atmosphere. A combinatorial gradient technique was employed to investigate the mechanism of solvent-induced microdomain orientation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

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References

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