Hierarchical patterns of three-dimensional block-copolymer films formed by electrohydrodynamic jet printing and self-assembly

Abstract

Self-assembly of block-copolymers provides a route to the fabrication of small (size, <50 nm) and dense (pitch, <100 nm) features with an accuracy that approaches even the demanding specifications for nanomanufacturing set by the semiconductor industry. A key requirement for practical applications, however, is a rapid, high-resolution method for patterning block-copolymers with different molecular weights and compositions across a wafer surface, with complex geometries and diverse feature sizes. Here we demonstrate that an ultrahigh-resolution jet printing technique that exploits electrohydrodynamic effects can pattern large areas with block-copolymers based on poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) with various molecular weights and compositions. The printed geometries have diameters and linewidths in the sub-500 nm range, line edge roughness as small as ∼45 nm, and thickness uniformity and repeatability that can approach molecular length scales (∼2 nm). Upon thermal annealing on bare, or chemically or topographically structured substrates, such printed patterns yield nanodomains of block-copolymers with well-defined sizes, periodicities and morphologies, in overall layouts that span dimensions from the scale of nanometres (with sizes continuously tunable between 13 nm and 20 nm) to centimetres. As well as its engineering relevance, this methodology enables systematic studies of unusual behaviours of block-copolymers in geometrically confined films.

Printable Materials for the Realization of High Performance RF Components: Challenges and Opportunities

“…Electrohydrodynamic printing is the highresolution printing analog to IJP. With this method, researchers have achieved nm-scale resolution and achieve this by changes in voltage potentials between the printer nozzle and the surface to be printed on [53,54]. While these methods have shown that they can impact future RF systems, there has not been widespread adoption of these techniques to date making a path towards realization of high performance RF components difficult.…”

From Self-Assembled Monolayers to Coatings: Advances in the Synthesis and Nanobio Applications of Polymer Brushes

“…Nealey and coworkers have shown a top-down method to create small periodic PS brush nanopatterns on a substrate by a lithographic processes including advanced lithography and O2 plasma etching [111][112][113]. A typical process involves spin-coating a photoresist on a PS brush grafted silicon substrate through "grafting-to", followed by patterning using E-beam lithography to produce line/space and dot arrays.…”

Additive nanomanufacturing – A review

“…74 The writing speed is unparalleled when compared to other additive manufacturing technologies presented here (see Table I) and is comparable to the writing speed of EBL. Additionally EHD is capable of printing in three dimensions 73 and because the material is deposited through a solvent, a wide range of materials can be available.…”

“…The flexibility of EHD jet printing allows a desirable mixing of block-copolymers with different molecular weight and the material waste of the relatively expensive polymers is greatly reduced. In this way periodic structures with length scales ranging from centimetres to ≈10 nm can be fabricated 74 within the geometrical limitations of block-copolymer self-assembly. Electrospinning from the stable jet mode is used for fast deposition of organic and polymer fibres for applications in nanowire electronic devices, physical biomimetic structures, and field-effect transistors.…”