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Structural Evolution and Alignment of Cylinder-Forming PS-b-PEP Thin Films in Confinement Studied by Time-Lapse Atomic Force Microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Qin Zheng
Affiliation:
The James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, U.S.A.
Dong-Chan Lee
Affiliation:
The James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, U.S.A.
Luping Yu
Affiliation:
The James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, U.S.A.
S. J. Sibener
Affiliation:
The James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, U.S.A.
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Abstract

We have utilized time-resolved high-temperature atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the mechanism by which topographic templates induce alignment of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer thin films. By tracking the same sample spot during thermal annealing, we observed that the structural evolution and alignment of thin films in confinement involve an intermediate state with disordered morphology and the evolution and annihilation of disclination quadrupoles guided by the channel edges, which ultimately lead to the essentially perfect alignment of cylindrical microdomains.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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