Perpendicularly aligned nanodomains on versatile substrates via rapid thermal annealing assisted by liquid crystalline ordering in block copolymer films.

ABSTRACT: The highly ordered perpendicularly aligned cylindrical and lamellar microdomains within block copolymer (BCP) films have important applications in diverse fields. However, the fast normal orientation of self-assembled nanostructures on arbitrary substrates without tedious pre- and postprocessing has been a challenging issue in manufacturing miniaturized devices. Here, we outline the potential for extending the hierarchical self-assembly within azobenzene-containing PS-b-PMA(Az) films to inherently assist in the formation of normally aligned domains using a rapid thermal annealing process (140 °C for 5 min). Liquid crystalline (LC) mesogens in PS-b-PMA(Az) films self-assemble to form a parallelly aligned sematic phase after thermal annealing, as confirmed by grazing-incidence

SUBMITTER: Qu T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9418532 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature