Tuning metal surface diffusion on diblock copolymer films

The authors have studied the effect of predeposition electron exposure on the diffusion behavior of silver evaporated on a diblock copolymer template. Unexposed regions display a highly selective adsorption of Ag clusters on the polystyrene domains. Exposure to the electron beam modifies the surface diffusion constants on each polymer block and produces a trend of smaller mean particle sizes with increased dose. While there is a loss of selectivity in this system upon exposure, alternative diblock chemistries or exposure procedures could enable one to engineer the selectivity of desired materials on polymer films. (c) 2007 American Vacuum Society.