Fabrication of Nanohole Array via Nanodot Array Using Simple Self-Assembly Process of Diblock Copolymer

Abstract

We present a simple self-assembly process for fabricating a nanohole array via a nanodot array on a glass substrate by dripping ethanol onto the nanodot array. It is found that well-aligned arrays of nanoholes as well as nanodots are formed on the whole surface of the glass. A dot is transformed into a hole, and the alignment of the nanodots strongly reflects that of the nanoholes. We find that the change in the depth of holes agrees well with the change in the surface energy with the ethanol concentration in the aqueous solution. We believe that the interfacial energy between the nanodots and the dripped ethanol causes the transformation from nanodots into nanoholes. The nanohole arrays are directly applicable to molds for nanopatterned media used in high-density near-field optical data storage. The bit data can be stored and read out using probes with small apertures.