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Nanodomain control in copolymer thin films

Nature volume 395, pages 757–758 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Diblock copolymers are composed of two chemically distinct chains covalently bonded together at one end. We have discovered how to control the orientation of diblock copolymer microdomains (made up of nanoscopic cylinders, or lamellae) in thin films. To do this, we eliminated all preferential interfacial segregation of the components by anchoring random copolymers, composed of identical monomers to the diblock copolymer, to both interfaces of the film. The composition of the random copolymer is tailored to balance interactions between the segments of the copolymer and the interfaces.

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Figure 1: Atomic force microscopic phase images.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polymer Science and Engineering Department, Silvio O. Conte National Center for Polymer Research, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 01003, Massachusetts, USA

    E. Huang, L. Rockford & T. P. Russell

  2. IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, San Jose, 95120-6099, California, USA

    C. J. Hawker

Authors
  1. E. Huang
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  2. L. Rockford
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  3. T. P. Russell
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  4. C. J. Hawker
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Huang, E., Rockford, L., Russell, T. et al. Nanodomain control in copolymer thin films. Nature 395, 757–758 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/27358

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