Interfacial profiles of mismatched lamellae in thin diblock copolymer films

A number of recent experiments have allowed direct study of diblock copolymer morphology on patterned surfaces. Here we examine, by computer simulation, the morphology of a diblock thin film in contact with a substrate having large stripes. The diblock aligns parallel to the surface but is frustrated at the point where two stripes join. We show here that at the joint one of the phases is continuous while the other is discontinuous. In the region of the join the lamellae form a kink with a length scale of the same size as the lamellar period. Within the kink the ordering is suppressed. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)51022-8].