The self-assembly of diblock copolymers into ordered domains holds great potential to enhance the development of electronic devices. One potential application is their use as shadow masks in the preparation of solar cells. They offer the possibility to deposit quantum dots or quantum wires onto the absorbing layer, which can not be done using current methods. For this work, silicon wafers and SiO2 coated Si wafers were spin-coated with a monohydroxy terminated polystyrene polymer and annealed in an oven for 24 hours at 150oC. After annealing, wafers were cooled, rinsed with toluene, and spin coated with a toluene solution of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO). Polymer film thickness was controlled by the concentration of the copolymer and the spin rate of the spin coater. Coated wafers were solvent annealed at temperatures ranging from 2 to -27oC in a sealed chamber containing both water and benzene for times ranging from 6-24 hrs. Films were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hexagonal arrays of pores were obtained during the solvent annealing. Films were irradiated with UV light to cross-link the polystyrene matrix and strengthened the polymer structure. Exposure of the films to argon plasma etched the ordered pattern into the underlying substrate, which can be used for nanolithography for the deposition of GaAs nanowires onto wafers. Details of the film preparation and characterization will be presented.

Self-assembly of PS-b-PEO films as a shadow mask for GaAs nanowire deposition

255th National Meeting (2018)

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