Block copolymers (BCPs) that can form features perpendicular to the substrate in thin films are desirable for a number of applications, including data storage devices, microprocessors, and membranes. Poly(styrene-<i>block</i>-methyl methacrylate) (PS-PMMA) is the most widely studied BCP due to its ability to form perpendicularly oriented features when thermally annealed. Thermal annealing does not require complicated equipment or solvents, and it is easily integrated into existing industrial process flows using existing equipment.  However, the smallest practical feature sizes attainable by PS-PMMA are about 10 nm, which will not advance these applications more than generation into the future; materials that can meet demands of several generations would make adopting this technology more worthwhile. While other BCP systems can form features with smaller sizes, perpendicularly aligning them involves more complicated processes, such as solvent annealing or top coat alignment strategies. In this work, we incorporate a self-interacting monomer into PS-PMMA that effectively raises the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (chi parameter) of PS-PMMA while retaining the ability to orient perpendicular to the substrate with thermal annealing. As the concentration of this monomer increases, the effective chi parameter increases, and features smaller than 10 nm can be formed.

Formation of sub-10 nm features with modified PS-PMMA

249th National Meeting (2015)

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