Self-assembly of block copolymers under non-isothermal annealing conditions as revealed by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering

An accurate knowledge of the parameters governing the kinetics of block copolymer self-assembly is crucial to model the time- and temperature-dependent evolution of pattern formation during annealing as well as to predict the most efficient conditions for the formation of defect-free patterns. Here, the self-assembly kinetics of a lamellar PS-b-PMMA block copolymer under both isothermal and non-isothermal annealing conditions are investigated by combining grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) experiments with a novel modelling methodology that accounts for the annealing history of the block copolymer film before it reaches the isothermal regime. Such a model allows conventional studies in isothermal annealing conditions to be extended to the more realistic case of non-isothermal annealing and prediction of the accuracy in the determination of the relevant parameters, namely the correlation length and the growth exponent, which define the kinetics of the self-assembly.This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 665919, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under contract Nos. MAT2015-68307-P, MAT2015-66443-C02-1-R, TEC2015-69864-R, RTI2018-102007-B-I00, PID209-107514GB-100, RYC-2016-21412 and the Generalitat de Catalunya under contract No. 2017 SGR 1187. The ICN2 is funded by the CERCA program/Generalitat de Catalunya. The ICN2 is supported by the Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence programme, funded by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI, grant No. SEV-2017-0706) (MINECO/FEDER, UE).Peer reviewe