| The directed assembly of block copolymer materials, including block copolymers and block copolymer-homopolymer blends, has led to the fabrication of various regular and irregular structures for applications ranging from microelectronics in the semiconductor industry, to bit-pattern-media in the magnetic data storage industry. Because of the intrinsic thermodynamic properties, block copolymer materials can microphase separate into highly ordered structures with improved lithographic properties. The directed assembly of block copolymer materials, which has been elected into the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, can be inserted into the current lithography process and serve as a candidate for sub-16-nm feature fabrication.;This document targets at directed assembly of block copolymer materials into nanopatterns for integrated circuits and bit-pattern-media, and focuses on the science and engineering of block copolymer materials for these applications. Foremost, the phase diagrams are constructed, and the morphological dimensional scaling is analyzed, for thin films of symmetric ternary blends composed of a symmetric block copolymer and its corresponding homopolymers.;The phase diagrams and dimensional scaling of block copolymer-homopolymers blends offer a fundamental understanding of key parameters that can be engineered for many applications in nanostructure fabrication and surface modification. By using lamellae-forming blends, the domains of the blends can be directed to assemble into non-regular, device-oriented structures that, in many cases, can be interpolated between patterned lines, resulting in an enhanced resolution. The functionalized block copolymerhomopolymer blends can chemically modify the substrates, either homogeneously or heterogeneously, for the directed assembly of block copolymers into random structures or patterned structures.;The phase behavior of block copolymers, and the dynamics and mechanism of block copolymer directed assembly on chemically patterned surfaces are investigated. These not only give insights in engineering the materials and chemical patterns to multiply the feature density and enhance the pattern resolution, but also offer avenues in fabricating complex structures in thin films. Beyond the directed assembly of block copolymer on one chemical pattern, the directed assembly of block copolymer between two chemical patterns can fabricate complex three dimensional structures of other technological interest. |
