Advanced Materials, Vol.19, No.24, 4453-4453, 2007
Nanodecoding by dewetting
Films of a block copolymer fluid are deposited on surfaces bearing nano-stripes of different wettability (see figure). The dewetting process of the fluid decodes the underlying pattern, opening trenches as narrow as 70 nm in the film, and creating fluid nanoribbons as narrow as 300 nm. The fluid ribbons are stabilized by the internal organization of the copolymer in the confined space of the ribbon.