Jacobberger Robert M, Thapar Vikram, Wu Guang-Peng, Chang Tzu-Hsuan, Saraswat Vivek, Way Austin J, Jinkins Katherine R, Ma Zhenqiang, Nealey Paul F, Hur Su-Mi, Xiong Shisheng, Arnold Michael S
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
School of Polymer Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, South Korea.
Nat Commun. 2020 Aug 19;11(1):4151. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17938-3.
Directed self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) enables nanofabrication at sub-10 nm dimensions, beyond the resolution of conventional lithography. However, directing the position, orientation, and long-range lateral order of BCP domains to produce technologically-useful patterns is a challenge. Here, we present a promising approach to direct assembly using spatial boundaries between planar, low-resolution regions on a surface with different composition. Pairs of boundaries are formed at the edges of isolated stripes on a background substrate. Vertical lamellae nucleate at and are pinned by chemical contrast at each stripe/substrate boundary, align parallel to boundaries, selectively propagate from boundaries into stripe interiors (whereas horizontal lamellae form on the background), and register to wide stripes to multiply the feature density. Ordered BCP line arrays with half-pitch of 6.4 nm are demonstrated on stripes >80 nm wide. Boundary-directed epitaxy provides an attractive path towards assembling, creating, and lithographically defining materials on sub-10 nm scales.
嵌段共聚物（BCP）的定向自组装能够实现亚10纳米尺寸的纳米制造，超越了传统光刻技术的分辨率。然而，引导BCP域的位置、取向和长程横向有序以产生具有技术实用性的图案是一项挑战。在此，我们提出了一种很有前景的方法，利用具有不同组成的表面上平面低分辨率区域之间的空间边界来进行定向组装。在背景基板上孤立条纹的边缘形成边界对。垂直薄片在每个条纹/基板边界处通过化学对比度成核并被固定，与边界平行排列，从边界选择性地传播到条纹内部（而水平薄片在背景上形成），并与宽条纹对齐以增加特征密度。在宽度大于80纳米的条纹上展示了半间距为6.4纳米的有序BCP线阵列。边界定向外延为在亚10纳米尺度上组装、创建和光刻定义材料提供了一条有吸引力的途径。
