Three-dimensional self-assembly of spherical block copolymer domains into V-shaped grooves

The self-assembly of a spherical-morphology block copolymer into V-shaped grooves has been investigated. Although spherical morphology block copolymers typically form a bcc sphere array in bulk, the V groove promotes the formation of a well-ordered fee close-packed sphere array with the (111) planes of the array parallel to the groove walls. The sphere size in the block copolymer adjusts depending on the commensurability between the periodicity of the block copolymer and the film thickness within the V groove. The top surface of the close-packed array, parallel to the substrate, shows a square symmetry, unlike the hexagonal symmetry seen in monolayers of spherical domains, which may provide a useful geometry for block copolymer lithography. © 2006 American Chemical Society.