Events Calendar

Chemistry Department Colloquium: “Pushing Block Copolymer Self-Assembly to its (sub-10 nm) Limits"

Speaker: Professor Jillian Buriak, Department of Chemistry and the National Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Alberta, Edmonton

Talk Title: Pushing Block Copolymer Self-Assembly to its (sub-10 nm) Limits

Abstract: Self-assembled nanostructures continue to be the focus of intense research due to their obvious inspiration from
Nature, and secondly, their enormous utility for patterning nanoscale structures with little outside intervention.
The directed self-assembly of block copolymers is a widely studied example that has great potential for
producing a broad array of regular and intricate nanostructures with only a small degree of external guidance, or
none at all. Thin layers of block copolymers can be induced to self-assemble to form very detailed patterns on
surfaces, and in this context, they can be used a template for directing surface chemistry on a range of different
technologically relevant interfaces. The spatially defined surface chemistry that can be accomplished, using the
nanoscale direction from the block copolymers, ranges from metallization, to metal oxide formation, to the
covalent attachment of small molecules, to highly controlled anisotropic surface etching. There remain,
however, many problems, many of which are defined by the International Technology Roadmap for
Semiconductors (www.itrs.net), with regards to block copolymer-mediated directed self-assembly. Being able to
produce sub-10 nm features, with very low line edge roughness in a rapid fashion, accompanied by very low
error rates is both challenging and fascinating. In this seminar, we will outline current approaches towards the
use of self-assembled block copolymer nanostructures on technologically relevant semiconductor materials, to
produce complex sub 10-nm features. Various routes towards accessing unexpected and useful structures will be
discussed, along with quantification of error rates and defect densities; in many cases these structures are
substantially smaller than what would be expected, based upon the natural periods and spacings of a given block
copolymer. Conversion of these block copolymer nanostructures into functional metal and metal oxide
nanopatterns will be described.

Location: Seeley G. Mudd Building (SGM) - 123

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Ryan Choi