Fabrication of Complex Three-Dimensional Nanostructures from Self-Assembling Block Copolymer Materials on Patterned Surfaces: A computational Study

Chemically patterned substrates can direct the assembly of adsorbed layers or thin films of block copolymers. Here, we consider the self-assembly of a lamella-forming diblock copolymer on periodically stripe-patterned substrates. The morphology of the block copolymer follows the pattern at the substrate; however, with an increasing degree of mismatch between the width of the stripe-pattern and the periodic spacing of bulk block copolymer, novel morphologies have been found. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the morphologies in thin bock copolymer films by adjusting the mismatch between the width of the stripe-pattern and the periodic spacing of the bulk block copolymer. These results demonstrate a promising strategy for fabrication of complex interfacial nanostructures from chemically patterned templates.