Direct Printing of Ultrathin Block Copolymer Film with Nano‐in‐Micro Pattern Structures

Abstract Nanotransfer printing (nTP) is one of the most promising nanopatterning methods given that it can be used to produce nano‐to‐micro patterns effectively with functionalities for electronic device applications. However, the nTP process is hindered by several critical obstacles, such as sub‐20 nm mold technology, reliable large‐area replication, and uniform transfer‐printing of functional materials. Here, for the first time, a dual nanopatterning process is demonstrated that creates periodic sub‐20 nm structures on the eight‐inch wafer by the transfer‐printing of patterned ultra‐thin (<50 nm) block copolymer (BCP) film onto desired substrates. This study shows how to transfer self‐assembled BCP patterns from the Si mold onto rigid and/or flexible substrates through a nanopatterning method of thermally assisted nTP (T‐nTP) and directed self‐assembly (DSA) of Si‐containing BCPs. In particular, the successful microscale patternization of well‐ordered sub‐20 nm SiO_x patterns is systematically presented by controlling the self‐assembly conditions of BCP and printing temperature. In addition, various complex pattern geometries of nano‐in‐micro structures are displayed over a large patterning area by T‐nTP, such as angular line, wave line, ring, dot‐in‐hole, and dot‐in‐honeycomb structures. This advanced BCP‐replicated nanopatterning technology is expected to be widely applicable to nanofabrication of nano‐to‐micro electronic devices with complex circuits.