Kinetic Pathways of Block Copolymer Directed Self-Assembly: Insights from Efficient Continuum Modeling
Jörg Rottler, Marcus Müller
Abstract
We introduce a computationally efficient continuum technique to simulate the complex kinetic pathways of block copolymer self-assembly. Subdiffusive chain dynamics is taken into account via nonlocal Onsager coefficients. An application to directed self-assembly of thin films of diblock copolymers on patterned substrates reveals the conditions under which experimentally observed metastable structures intervene in the desired thin-film morphology. The approach generalizes easily to multiblock copolymers and more complex guiding patterns on the substrate, and its efficiency allows for the systematic optimization of guiding patterns and process conditions.
Topics & Concepts
CopolymerMaterials scienceMetastabilitySelf-assemblyKinetic energyThin filmSubstrate (aquarium)Molecular dynamicsPolymerNanotechnologyBlock (permutation group theory)Chemical physicsComputational chemistryPhysicsChemistryClassical mechanicsMathematicsComposite materialOceanographyGeometryQuantum mechanicsGeologyBlock Copolymer Self-AssemblyTheoretical and Computational PhysicsAdvanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization