Ordered rippling of polymer surfaces by nanolithography: influence of scan pattern and boundary effects

Year: 2012

Authors: Napolitano S., D’Acunto M., Baschieri P., Gnecco E., Pingue P.

Autors Affiliation: Laboratory of Polymer and Soft Matter Dynamics, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Boulevard du Triomphe, Brussels, 1050, Belgium;
Istituto di Struttura della Materia del CNR, ISM-CNR, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133, Rome, Italy;
Istituto Nazionale di Ottica del CNR, via Moruzzi 1, I-56100 Pisa, Italy;
Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA Nanociencia), Campus Universitario de Cantoblanco, Calle Faraday 9, 28049 Madrid, Spain;
NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze—CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza San Silvestro 12, I-56127 Pisa, Italy

Abstract: We demonstrate how AFM nanolithography, with a proper choice of scan pattern, can induce an exceptionally ordered alignment of ripples on the surface of polymer films on the first scan. By analogy with the manipulation of nanoparticles, the orientation of the ripples is determined by the material flow, which is ultimately fixed by the direction of motion of the probing tip. This makes a raster scan pattern the best choice for orienting the ripples, as opposed to the zigzag scan pattern commonly adopted by most AFM setups. Our hypothesis is substantiated by a series of measurements on a solvent-enriched ultrathin film of PET, which allowed ripple formation on the first scan. We also show how the ripple orientation is significantly modified by the boundary conditions appearing when nanolithography is performed on circular, triangular and L-shaped areas on the polymer surface.

Journal/Review: NANOTECHNOLOGY

Volume: 23 (47)      Pages from: 475301  to: 475301

More Information: The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project No. MAT3011-26312) (EG) is gratefully acknowledged for financial support.
DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/23/47/475301

Citations: 16
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