Nondestructive quantitative synchrotron grazing incidence x-ray scattering analysis of cylindrical nanostructures in supported thin films.

Nondestructive nanostructural analysis is indispensable in the development of nanomaterials and nanofabrication processes for use in nanotechnology applications. This paper demonstrates a quantitative, nondestructive analysis of nanostructured thin films supported on substrates and their templated nanopores by using grazing incidence X-ray scattering and data analysis with a derived scattering theory. The analysis disclosed that vertically oriented nanodomain cylinders had formed in 20–100 nm thick films supported on substrates, which consisted of a mixture of poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) and PMMA homopolymer, and that the PMMA nanodomain cylinders were selectively etched out by ultraviolet light exposure and a subsequent rinse with acetic acid, resulting in a well ordered nanostructure consisting of hexagonally packed cylindrical nanopores.