Technology Opportunities

Improved method for nanofabrication of irregular structures

Highlights

• In nanofabrication there is a problem with integrating self-assembling materials into existing manufacturing strategies to enable molecular-level process control and the ability to produce useful architectures.
• Films of block copolymers can be directed to assemble on chemically patterned substrates into predictable and desirable morphologies and orientations that augment and enhance those produced by the lithographic process.
• Although this process has been shown to produce extremely accurate and exact patterns and is the only method that has been demonstrated to achieve non-regular device-oriented geometries used in the fabrication of integrated circuits or servo patterns on hard drives, there is a problem with inserting these materials in order to replicate non-regular structures such as long lines, sharp bends and jogs, T-junctions and more.
• Blends of diblock copolymers and homopolymers have been employed to overcome this problem, but have their own limitations.

Our Innovation

The incorporation of a supramolecular block into a conventional block copolymer provides additional structural flexibility that enables accurate replication of non-regular structures.

Figure. (a) Illustration of the nature of the dynamic block copolymer: morphology changing with addition of supramolecular monomers according to local conditions. (b) Simulation results showing defect-less replication of a rectangular pattern using the dynamic block copolymers.

Key Features

• Enables highly accurate replication of non-regular structures
• Enables simultaneous replication of different types of non-regular structure with one composition of material
• Limits number of defects

Development Milestones

• Seeking funding for ongoing research

The Opportunity

• The integrated circuit market is forecast to eclipse $300 billion in 2013 because of demand in smart phones, media tablets, and automotive systems.