Title:
Directed Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers: Opportunities and Challenges on the Path to Scalable Nanomanufacturing
Directed Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers: Opportunities and Challenges on the Path to Scalable Nanomanufacturing
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Author(s)
Henderson, Clifford L.
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Abstract
Richard Feynman in his now famous 1959 talk entitled “There’s Plenty of
Room at the Bottom,” envisioned a world of atomically precise manufacturing
that would fuel advancements in information storage, computing, and other
fields, though he had only a few rudimentary concepts of how to achieve such
a goal at the time. Move forward to 2015 where the semiconductor industry
routinely manufactures circuit elements that are below 40 nm in size and the
data storage industry is poised to manufacture and sell bit patterned media
with even smaller magnetic elements. While we have achieved many of the
feats Feynman originally envisioned in his original talk, there is still
plenty of room at the bottom in 2-D and 3-D geometries that cannot yet be
accessed using truly high volume manufacturing techniques. This talk will
first present a view of current nanomanufacturing capabilities and the
challenges being faced going forward as attempts are made to develop high
volume methods for fabricating sub-30 nm size device features for
microelectronics applications. The remaining majority of the talk will focus
on the directed self-assembly of block copolymers as one possible method that
could achieve this goal of high volume manufacturing of device elements with
sizes down into sub-10 nm length scales.
Underlying much of what we envision as nanomanufacturing for functional
devices is the ability to form nanoscale two dimensional and three
dimensional structures in various organic and inorganic materials. For
example, all modern electronic devices (e.g. computers, cell phones, tablets,
etc.) rely on the use of microprocessors and memory devices that possess
integrated circuit (IC) device features smaller than 50 nm in size. The
critical and enabling technologies for mass producing such microelectronic
devices are the combination of lithographic materials, processes, and tools
used to pattern the nanoscale device elements that constitute the transistor
device active layers and the subsequent electrical interconnect layers.
However, continuing to scale such devices down in feature size faces a number
of challenges in terms of the materials, tools, and economics of such micro-
and nanofabrication technologies. Solutions to these problems will require
new materials and new material processing approaches. The first part of this
talk will quickly review the current state of the art in such lithographic
nanopatterning technologies and some of the current challenges being faced by
traditional lithography and IC manufacturing methods. The second part of the
talk will address how we are applying chemical engineering, materials
science, and synthetic chemistry concepts to develop solutions to these
challenges. Specifically, we will look at the role self-assembly may play in
the future of nanomanufacturing through the use of block copolymer directed
self-assembly techniques (BCP DSA). Block copolymers have the natural
tendency to micro-phase separate at length scales commensurate with the
polymer chain dimensions, i.e. on the order of 1 to 100 nm in size. Left
alone to micro-phase separate in the bulk, such block copolymers form
nanostructured but disordered morphologies. However, when combined with
templating surfaces patterned with traditional lithography techniques,
nanometer length scale features with the long range order required for
nanomanufacturing can be achieved. This talk will highlight the synergy of
combining experimental and molecular modeling approaches to attack such
problems and will discuss current achievements and remaining challenges in
the field of BCP DSA.
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Date Issued
2015-01-13
Extent
68:53 minutes
Resource Type
Moving Image
Resource Subtype
Lecture