Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

27 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Automated Defect and Correlation Length Analysis of Block Copolymer Thin Film Nanopatterns.

ABSTRACT: Line patterns produced by lamellae- and cylinder-forming block copolymer (BCP) thin films are of widespread interest for their potential to enable nanoscale patterning over large areas. In order for such patterning methods to effectively integrate with current technologies, the resulting patterns need to have low defect densities, and be produced in a short timescale. To understand whether a given polymer or annealing method might potentially meet such challenges, it is necessary to examine the evolution of defects. Unfortunately, few tools are readily available to researchers, particularly those engaged in the synthesis and design of new polymeric systems with the potential for patterning, to measure defects in such line patterns. To this end, we present an image analysis tool, which we have developed and made available, to measure the characteristics of such patterns in an automated fashion. Additionally we apply the tool to six cylinder-forming polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) polymers thermally annealed to explore the relationship between the size of each polymer and measured characteristics including line period, line-width, defect density, line-edge roughness (LER), line-width roughness (LWR), and correlation length. Finally, we explore the line-edge roughness, line-width roughness, defect density, and correlation length as a function of the image area sampled to determine each in a more rigorous fashion.

SUBMITTER: Murphy JN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4514826 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Spatial arrangement of block copolymer nanopatterns using a photoactive homopolymer substrate.

Project description:Spatial control of the orientation of block copolymers (BCPs) in thin films offers enormous opportunities for practical nanolithography applications. In this study, we demonstrate the use of a substrate comprised of poly(4-acetoxystyrene) to spatially control interfacial interactions and block copolymer orientation over different length scales. Upon UV irradiation poly(4-acetoxystyrene) undergoes a photo-Fries rearrangement yielding phenolic groups available for further functionalization. The wetting behaviour of PS-b-PMMA deposited on the poly(4-acetoxystyrene) films could be precisely controlled through controlling the UV irradiation dose. After exposure, and a mild post-exposure treatment, the substrate switches from asymmetric, to neutral and then to symmetric wetting. Upon exposure through photomasks, a range of high fidelity micro-patterns consisting of perpendicularly oriented lamellar microdomains were generated. Furthermore, the resolution of chemically patterned poly(4-acetoxystyrene) substrate could be further narrowed to submicrometer scale using electron beam lithography. When the BCP was annealed on an e-beam modified poly(4-acetoxystyrene) surface, the interface between domains of parallel and perpendicular orientation of the BCPs was well defined, especially when compared with the substrates patterned using the photomask.

| S-EPMC9418028 | biostudies-literature

Vertical Lamellae Formed by Two-Step Annealing of a Rod-Coil Liquid Crystalline Block Copolymer Thin Film.

Project description:Silicon-containing block copolymer thin films with high interaction parameter and etch contrast are ideal candidates to generate robust nanotemplates for advanced nanofabrication, but they typically form in-plane oriented microdomains as a result of the dissimilar surface energies of the blocks. Here, we describe a two-step annealing method to produce vertically aligned lamellar structures in thin film of a silicon-containing rod-coil thermotropic liquid crystalline block copolymer. The rod-coil block copolymer with the volume fraction of the Si-containing block of 0.22 presents an asymmetrical lamellar structure in which the rod block forms a hexatic columnar nematic liquid crystalline phase. A solvent vapor annealing step first produces well-ordered in-plane cylinders of the Si-containing block, then a subsequent thermal annealing promotes the phase transition from in-plane cylinders to vertical lamellae. The pathways of the order-order transition were examined by microscopy and in situ using grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray scattering.

| S-EPMC7309319 | biostudies-literature

Synthesis of Block Copolymer Brush by RAFT and Click Chemistry and Its Self-Assembly as a Thin Film.

Project description:A well-defined block copolymer brush poly(glycidyl methacrylate)-graft-(poly(methyl methacrylate)-block- poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate)) (PGMA-g-(PMMA-b-POEGMA)) is synthesized via grafting from an approach based on a combination of click chemistry and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The resulting block copolymer brushes were characterized by 1H-NMR and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The self-assembly of the block copolymer brush was then investigated under selective solvent conditions in three systems: THF/water, THF/CH3OH, and DMSO/CHCl3. PGMA-g-(PMMA-b-POEGMA) was found to self-assemble into spherical micelle structures as analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The average size of the particles was much smaller in THF/CH3OH and DMSO/CHCl3 as compared with the THF/water system. Thin film of block copolymer brushes with tunable surface properties was then prepared by the spin-coating technique. The thickness of the thin film was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Atom force microscopy (AFM) analysis revealed a spherical morphology when the block copolymer brush was treated with poor solvents for the backbone and hydrophobic side chains. The contact angle measurements were used to confirm the surface rearrangements of the block copolymer brushes.

| S-EPMC7587578 | biostudies-literature

Self-Assembled Copolymer Adsorption Layer-Induced Block Copolymer Nanostructures in Thin Films.

Project description:In polymer thin films, the bottom polymer chains are irreversibly adsorbed onto the substrates creating an ultrathin layer. Although this thin layer (only a few nanometers thick) governs all film properties, an understanding of this adsorbed layer remains elusive, and thus, its effective control has yet to be achieved, particularly in block copolymer (BCP) thin films. Herein, we employ self-assembled copolymer adsorption layers (SCALs), transferred from the air/water interfacial self-assembly of BCPs, as an effective control of the adsorbed layer in BCP thin films. SCALs replace the natural adsorbed layer, irreversibly adsorbing onto the substrates when other BCP is additionally coated on the SCALs. We further show that SCALs guide the thin film nanostructures because they provide topological restrictions and enthalpic/entropic preferences for a BCP self-assembly. The SCAL-induced self-assembly enables unprecedented control of nanostructures, creating novel nanopatterns such as spacing-controlled hole/dot patterns, dotted-line patterns, dash-line patterns, and anisotropic cluster patterns with exceptional controllability.

| S-EPMC6764160 | biostudies-literature

Simultaneous fabrication of line and dot dual nanopatterns using miktoarm block copolymer with photocleavable linker.

Project description:Block copolymers with various nanodomains, such as spheres, cylinders, and lamellae, have received attention for their applicability to nanolithography. However, those microdomains are determined by the volume fraction of one block. Meanwhile, nanopatterns with multiple shapes are required for the next-generation nanolithography. Although various methods have been reported to achieve dual nanopatterns, all the methods need sophisticated processes using E-beam. Here, we synthesized a miktoarm block copolymer capable of cleavage of one block by ultraviolet. Original cylindrical nanodomains of synthesized block copolymer were successfully transformed to lamellar nanodomains due to the change of molecular architecture by ultraviolet. We fabricated dual nanopatterns consisting of dots and lines at desired regions on a single substrate. We also prepared dual nanopatterns utilizing another phase transformation from spheres to cylinders in a block copolymer with higher interaction parameter. Since our concept has versatility to any block copolymer, it could be employed as next-generation nanolithography.

| S-EPMC5701260 | biostudies-literature

Periodic Arrays of Dopants in Silicon by Ultralow Energy Implantation of Phosphorus Ions through a Block Copolymer Thin Film.

Project description:In this work, block copolymer lithography and ultralow energy ion implantation are combined to obtain nanovolumes with high concentrations of phosphorus atoms periodically disposed over a macroscopic area in a p-type silicon substrate. The high dose of implanted dopants grants a local amorphization of the silicon substrate. In this condition, phosphorus is activated by solid phase epitaxial regrowth (SPER) of the implanted region with a relatively low temperature thermal treatment preventing diffusion of phosphorus atoms and preserving their spatial localization. Surface morphology of the sample (AFM, SEM), crystallinity of the silicon substrate (UV Raman), and position of the phosphorus atoms (STEM- EDX, ToF-SIMS) are monitored during the process. Electrostatic potential (KPFM) and the conductivity (C-AFM) maps of the sample surface upon dopant activation are compatible with simulated I-V characteristics, suggesting the presence of an array of not ideal but working p-n nanojunctions. The proposed approach paves the way for further investigations on the possibility to modulate the dopant distribution within a silicon substrate at the nanoscale by changing the characteristic dimension of the self-assembled BCP film.

| S-EPMC10739587 | biostudies-literature

Strong Linear Correlation between CH3NH2 Molecular Defect and THz-Wave Absorption in CH3NH3PbI3 Hybrid Perovskite Thin Film.

Project description:To control the density of a CH3NH2 molecular defect, which strongly contributed to a significant THz-wave absorption property in the CH3NH3PbI3 hybrid perovskite thin film formed by the sequential vacuum evaporation method, we performed post-annealing processes with various temperatures and times. In the thin film after post-annealing at 110 °C for 45 min, the density of the CH3NH2 molecular defect was minimized, and CH3NH3I and PbI2 disappeared in the thin film after the post-annealing process at 150 °C for 30 min. However, the density of the CH3NH2 molecular defect increased. Moreover, the THz-wave absorption property for each thin film was obtained using a THz time-domain spectroscopy to understand the correlation between the density of a molecular defect and the THz-wave oscillation strength at 1.6 THz, which originated in the molecular defect-incorporated hybrid perovskite structure. There is a strong linear correlation between the oscillator strength of a significant THz-wave absorption at 1.6 THz and the CH3NH2 molecular defect density.

| S-EPMC7221770 | biostudies-literature

Negatively Charged Porous Thin Film from ABA Triblock Copolymer Assembly.

Project description:The preparation of well-arranged nano-porous thin films from an ABA triblock copolymer of polystyrene-block-poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)-block-polystyrene (PS-PNaSS-PS) is reported. This copolymer was self-assembled in a N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)/water mixture and the resulting micellar solution was used to prepare thin films via the compact packing of the flower-like micelles using spin coating method. The films were characterized by several microscopy techniques such as TEM, AFM, and SEM. Permeation test was performed to highlight the interconnected porous nature of the polymeric network obtained. Under applied water pressure, the micellar morphology was altered and a partial fusion of the micelles was observed that resulted in a change in the water permeability. Such hydrophilic nanoporous thin films with negatively charged interface could find applications in membrane filtration.

| S-EPMC6403756 | biostudies-literature

Temperature-Controlled Solvent Vapor Annealing of Thin Block Copolymer Films.

Project description:Solvent vapor annealing is as an effective and versatile alternative to thermal annealing to equilibrate and control the assembly of polymer chains in thin films. Here, we present scientific and practical aspects of the solvent vapor annealing method, including the discussion of such factors as non-equilibrium conformational states and chain dynamics in thin films in the presence of solvent. Homopolymer and block copolymer films have been used in model studies to evaluate the robustness and the reproducibility of the solvent vapor processing, as well as to assess polymer-solvent interactions under confinement. Advantages of utilizing a well-controlled solvent vapor environment, including practically interesting regimes of weakly saturated vapor leading to poorly swollen states, are discussed. Special focus is given to dual temperature control over the set-up instrumentation and to the potential of solvo-thermal annealing. The evaluated insights into annealing dynamics derived from the studies on block copolymer films can be applied to improve the processing of thin films of crystalline and conjugated polymers as well as polymer composite in confined geometries.

| S-EPMC6722758 | biostudies-literature

Transient Laser-Annealing-Induced Mesophase Transitions of Block Copolymer–Resol Thin Films

Project description:Block copolymer self-assembly-derived

| S-EPMC9954231 | biostudies-literature