Creating, Controlling, and Understanding Nanopatterns in Block Copolymer Films

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Many nanotechnologies rely on materials and surfaces with precise nanoscale patterns of various types. The more types that can be easily fabricated, the greater the flexibility for the design and conception of these nanotechnologies. Nanopatterns are difficult to fabricate cheaply by lithographic techniques, and therefore materials that are capable of self-assembling naturally into desired nanopatterns are heavily researched. Among these materials are block copolymers, particularly in the form of films, which can provide nanopatterned surfaces. In our research, we have shown recently that an easy and cheap film-forming procedure called dip-coating, when applied to block copolymers, can give simultaneous control over film thickness and its patterning in a single step, just by varying the dip-coating speed. We have also obtained extremely thin films with particular patterns, including a square pattern (useful, for example, for nanoelectronics), on a water surface using a so-called Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Based on these very promising results, we propose to develop, in particular, the block copolymer dip-coating technique in various ways to obtain a diversity of nanopatterns. To create and control these patterns intelligently, we want to develop our understanding of the relationship between the patterns obtained and the molecular characteristics of the block copolymer used (often combined with special additives that are an easy way to modify or fine-tune the patterns), the structure of the solutions used, and the experimental dip-coating parameters used. Similarly, we will apply the Langmuir-Blodgett technique to control special patterns. Two areas of applications of our films towards which we will contribute are medical nanobiosensors and nanophotonics. Our research is expected to benefit the development of nanotechnologies in Canada and directly trains HQP in this and related areas.