Fabrication of functional nanomaterials using block copolymer molecular assembly

Abstract

Block copolymer (BCP) lithography has proven itself as a cost-effective, parallel, and scalable nanolithography for the densely packed periodic arrays of nanoscale features, whose typical dimension scale in 5 ~ 50 nm is beyond the resolution limit of conventional photolithography. However, it is not totally introduced to practical manufacturing processes yet. First of all, the molecular ordering and the domain alignment of the self-assembly materials are delicately influenced by the surface energy and functionality. It requires high-level foundational nanotechnology to tune the surface energy of substrate. More importantly, the self-assembly process is usually based on the weak bonding such as Van der Waals forces. As a result, self-assembled nanostructures have naturally various and much defects and are not easily controlled to obtain a well-ordered form. Herein, we introduce "straightforward surface energy modification methods for the control of the orientation of block copolymer microdomains in thin film" and "novel approaches to obtain the well-aligned nanostructure using by BCP lithography". These strategies can impart elegant routes to control the lateral orientation and orderings of BCP microdomains in thin film.