Templating Functional Materials Using Self-Assembled Block Copolymer Thin-Film for Nanodevices

Abstract

The nanomorphologies and nanoarchitectures that can be synthesized using block copolymer (BCP) thin-film self-assembly have inspired a variety of new applications, which offer various advantages, such as, small device footprint, low operational power and enhanced device performance. Imperative for these applications, however, is the ability to transform these small polymeric patterns into useful inorganic structures. BCP-templated inorganic nanostructures have shown the potential for use as active materials in various electronic device applications, including, field-effect transistors, photodetectors, gas sensors and many more. This article reviews various strategies that have been implemented in the past decade to fabricate devices at nanoscale using block copolymer thin films.

Laser-Driven One- and Two-Dimensional Subwavelength Periodic Patterning of Thin Films Made of a Metal–Organic MoS2 Precursor

“…LIPSS templates have already proved to be a promising way to alter the physical properties of other materials supported by the nanostructure . MoC LIPSS or similar materials could also be used as analogues to block polymers, which are often used to obtain nanostructures by post-self-assembly processes for various nanodevices . Its ability to be fully soluble in organic solutions facilitates the removal of the template material, and its property to be converted in MoS 2 further expands its capabilities.…”

Solvent-assisted self-assembly of block copolymer thin films

“…Such orienting biases include the electric, 65,66 magnetic, 67,68 thermal gradients, 69,70 or shearfields 71,72 and their use in BCP patterning can be found in several excellent review publications. 4,7,8,10,16 In the microphase-separated state, the volume ratio of the blocks and the interfacial energy minimization principles define the geometric shape of BCP domains. Typically encountered morphologies include cubically-packed spheres, hexagonally-packed cylinders, gyroidal networks, and lamellae.…”

“…Such orienting biases include the electric, 65,66 magnetic, 67,68 thermal gradients, 69,70 or shear-fields 71,72 and their use in BCP patterning can be found in several excellent review publications. 4,7,8,10,16…”

“…Progress in BCP science has been documented by numerous reviews focused on their synthesis, [1][2][3] processing, [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] and their applications. 6,[11][12][13][14][15][16] Arguably, the greatest advantage of BCP-mediated manufacturing of nanoscale patterns is the low-cost and high-throughput of this approach compared to the conventional methods such as photo-and e-beam lithography. Numerous applications for BCP-ordered templates have been proposed, including optical coatings, 17,18 metamaterials, [19][20][21] photonic crystals, 22,23 plasmonic nanostructures, 24,25 and membranes.…”

Influence of Nanoaggregation Routes on the Structure and Thermal Behavior of Multiple-Stimuli-Responsive Micelles from Block Copolymers of Oligo(ethylene glycol) Methacrylate and the Weak Acid [2-(Hydroxyimino)aldehyde]butyl Methacrylate

“…The development of versatile polymerization techniques triggers limitless creativity in the synthesis of macromolecules of diverse chemistry and topology, including multi-responsive copolymers . Potential applications in sensors, electronics, and biomedical fields draw attention toward the properties of polymeric nanoaggregates in connection with other interacting systems through chemical and physical signals. − Self-assembly of surfactants and polymeric amphiphiles mostly relies on the minimization of unfavorable thermodynamic interactions involving molecular segments and solvents. , This driving force provides the basis for solvent displacement (SD), in which assembly is induced by gradually switching from a good solvent to a segment-selective one. However, as more stimuli-responsive copolymers are being synthesized, micellization has been induced by taking advantage of alternative driving forces other than inherent solvophobicity .…”