Macroscopic 10-Terabit–per–Square-Inch Arrays from Block Copolymers with Lateral Order

TLDR

Generating laterally ordered, ultradense, macroscopic arrays of nanoscopic elements will revolutionize the microelectronic and storage industries. We used faceted surfaces of commercially available sapphire wafers to guide the self‑assembly of block copolymer microdomains into oriented arrays with quasi‑long‑range crystalline order over arbitrarily large wafer surfaces, with sawtoothed substrate topography providing directional guidance tolerant of surface defects such as dislocations. Ordered arrays of cylindrical microdomains 3 nm in diameter with areal densities exceeding 10 Tb/in² were produced, maintaining lateral ordering and lattice orientation across the entire surface, and the approach is parallel, applicable to different substrates and block copolymers, opening a versatile route toward ultrahigh‑density systems.

Abstract

Generating laterally ordered, ultradense, macroscopic arrays of nanoscopic elements will revolutionize the microelectronic and storage industries. We used faceted surfaces of commercially available sapphire wafers to guide the self-assembly of block copolymer microdomains into oriented arrays with quasi–long-range crystalline order over arbitrarily large wafer surfaces. Ordered arrays of cylindrical microdomains 3 nanometers in diameter, with areal densities in excess of 10 terabits per square inch, were produced. The sawtoothed substrate topography provides directional guidance to the self-assembly of the block copolymer, which is tolerant of surface defects, such as dislocations. The lateral ordering and lattice orientation of the single-grain arrays of microdomains are maintained over the entire surface. The approach described is parallel, applicable to different substrates and block copolymers, and opens a versatile route toward ultrahigh-density systems.