Enhancing the Potential of Block Copolymer Lithography with Polymer Self-Consistent Field Theory Simulations

Self-consistent field theory methodology is used to explore the graphoepitaxy of spherical-morphology block copolymers templated by an array of posts, as well as to predict the formation of aperiodic templated structures, giving an excellent agreement with experimental results. Simulations in two and three dimensions were performed on model hexagonal lattices of posts with spacing, L post that was varied in the range L post = 1.7L 0 to 3.9L 0, where L 0 is the equilibrium period of the block copolymer. The effects of changing the diameter of the posts and the volume fraction of the block copolymer were investigated, and the formation of a structure with designed aperiodicities was successfully modeled.