Nanostructured polymer lithography for electronic applications

The self-assembly of diblock copolymers into ordered domains holds great potential to further the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. Solutions containing polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) were applied to both silicon wafers and graphene samples from toluene solutions. Ordered domains were obtained by annealing films in solvent vapor, with the best results produced from a humidified benzene environment at low temperatures. Introducing the films to UV light cross-linked the polystyrene matrix and strengthened the polymer structure. Exposure of the films to argon plasma etched the ordered pattern into the underlying substrate, which can be used for nanolithography for the deposition of quantum dots onto wafers. Details of the film preparation and characterization will be presented.