Sonderforschungsbereich 481

    Komplexe Makromolekül- und Hybridsysteme in inneren und äußeren Feldern

Subproject b7:

Surface-induced Self-assembly in Thin Block Copolymer Films

Dr. Larisa Tsarkova (Physical Chemistry II)

The project concentrates on the surface fields and finite film thickness (geometric confinement) effects on the phase behavior, microdomain dynamics and long-range order in thin block copolymer films. Using home-built quantitative analysis of the scanning phase microscopy images we determine with nanometer precision the characteristic microdomain spacings. The response of the microdomain dimensions to the inner and external parameters is anticipated to share light on the mechanisms of the structural phase transitions in thin block copolymer films. Additionally, the in-depth-structure of block copolymer films will be characterized by SFM with quasi in-situ plasma etching functionality. The experiments would be accompanied by the 3D computational simulations based on the dynamic self-consistent field theory (DSCFT).
Three-dimensional rendered SFM image ~5x5 µm2 with the height image used as heightfield and the phase image used as texture. The image shows the formation of terraces in the film and the systematic change of the microdomain structures along the changes in film thickness.

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