This grant provides funding to address fundamental and technological issues essential for the widespread implementation of directed self-assembly (DSA) in nanomanufacturing of device structures. Specifically, block copolymers, that self-assemble to form densely packed features with highly uniform dimensions and shapes in ordered arrays, will be directed to assemble on chemical pre-patterns defined using traditional lithographic processes, such as 193 nm immersion or electron beam lithography. Hence, the 20 to 40 nm resolution of traditional lithography will be reduced down to the 5 to 10 nm range by DSA. The principal activities of the proposed work include fabrication of ultrathin and high resolution chemically nanopatterned substrates to enable DSA at 10 nm feature size and below; development of strategies to deposit surface layers on top of self-assembling block copolymer films as a means to enable high-resolution assemblies; and all vapor-phase synthesis, deposition, and directed self-assembly of block copolymers. Novel and scalable processes for chemical vapor deposition of polymeric nanocoatings are a key to all activities, and the proposed effort represents a truly concerted computational and experimental approach, with design of materials and processes enabled by predictive molecular simulations.
This research, which aims to establish a proven pathway to realize sub 10 nm resolution, and provide scaling down to 5 nm, has the potential to revolutionize nanolithography and nanomanufacturing. For the semiconductor industry, DSA may allow the manufacture of future generations of faster computer chips following Moore?s law without having to invest billions of dollars in new fabrication facilities (i.e. based on extreme ultra violet lithography) that may or may not be able to meet the required resolutions. For hard drives, block copolymer lithography is the only known technology that is feasible to fabricate nanoimprint masters to manufacture bit patterned media at the required storage densities (at least greater than 2 Terabit/inch2). The research will also substantially advance the state-of-the-art in vapor-phase deposition of polymers with controlled compositions and molecular architectures, and that of predictive and quantitative models for the thermodynamics and dynamics of polymer films.
