Observed substrate topography-mediated lateral patterning of diblock copolymer films

We study the morphology of symmetric diblock copolymer films with thicknesses below the bulk equilibrium period supported by both flat and corrugated substrates. In this thickness regime, the film morphology is characterized by the formation of uniformly sized lateral domains. On flat substrates, these domains are randomly arranged. In contrast, on corrugated substrates, similar films exhibit domains which decorate the peaks of the substrate corrugations. Our observations suggest a novel and simple scheme for the lateral nanometer scale patterning of diblock copolymer films.