GROWTH OF 2-DIMENSIONAL DOMAINS IN COPOLYMER THIN-FILMS

Quenching experiments on very thin films (≈1,000 angstroms) of symmetric diblock copolymer deposited on solid substrates result in the formation of circular relief domains at the free surface of the sample. Based on the conjecture of a simple dislocation structure of the domain edge, equations governing the time evolution of the domain size distribution are proposed. The flows involved in the domain growth are shown to be confined into a bilayer which is disrupted at the dislocation lines. The hypothesis is made that interlayer frictions dominate. The growth kinetics of a single hole in a finite film is finally solved explicitely. Its radius is found to decay as a 1/3 power law of its life time.