A primary limitation of block copolymer films as templates for next generation electronic or data storage devices is the prohibitively long times required for thermally driven self-assembly and defect annihilation and long range order development. We demonstrate a rapid approach involving temporal zone (cold-hot-cold) annealing of block copolymer films well below their order-disorder transition temperature (T HOT << T ODT) that produces low defect concentrations, large grain size and a preferential alignment of the block microphase relatively rapidly [1]. Towards understanding some of the concepts involved in zone annealing under ideal conditions, we implement a time- and space-dependent mobility field in the relaxation of a diblock copolymer self-consistent field theory [2]. Promising results have been obtained by combining zone annealing with directed assembly on topographically patterned substrates. This combination results in the rapid development of long-range order which persists over the entire patterned area. The evolution of order in these templates is quantified using neutron reflection in conjunction with tomographic small angle scattering (T-SANS), and compared to scattering from model simulations to obtain a 3-D description of ordering within channel templates. The ability to rapidly achieve quantifiable long-range order in block copolymers (with inaccessible order-disorder transition temperatures) using non-destructive methods within templates suggests zone annealing as a robust nanomanufacturing method for guided self-assembly.

[1] Berry, B.C., Bosse, A., Douglas, J.F., Jones, R.L., Karim, A., Nanoletters, 2007, 7(9), 2789.

[2] Bosse, A.W., Douglas, J.F., Berry, B.C., Jones, R.L., Karim, A., Phys. Rev. Lett., 99, 216101, 2007.