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1: Langmuir. 2004 Jun 8;20(12):5091-9.Links

Hierarchical assembly and compliance of aligned nanoscale polymer cylinders in confinement.

Sundrani D, Darling SB, Sibener SJ.

James Franck Institute, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.

We report a combined top-down/bottom-up hierarchical approach to fabricate massively parallel arrays of aligned nanoscale domains by means of the self-assembly of asymmetric polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-alt-propylene) diblock copolymers. Silicon nitride grating substrates of various depths and periodicities are used to template the alignment of the high-aspect-ratio cylindrical polymer domains. Alignment is nucleated by polystyrene preferentially wetting the trough sidewalls and is thermally extended throughout the polymer film by defect annihilation. Topics discussed include a detailed analysis of the capacity of this system to accommodate lithographic defects and observations of alignment beyond the confined channel volumes. This graphoepitaxial methodology can be exploited in hybrid hard/soft condensed matter systems for a variety of applications.

PMID: 15984272 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]