title: Simulated annealing study of asymmetric diblock copolymer thin films.
abstract: We report a simulated annealing study of the morphology of asymmetric diblock copolymer thin films confined between two homogeneous and identical surfaces. We have focused on copolymers that form a gyroidal morphology in the bulk. The morphological dependence of the confined films on the film thickness and the surface-polymer interaction has been systematically investigated. From the simulations it is found that much richer morphologies can form for the gyroid-forming asymmetric diblock copolymer thin films, in contrast to the lamella-forming symmetric and cylinder-forming asymmetric diblock copolymer films. Multiple morphological transitions induced by changing the film thickness and polymer-surface interactions are observed.
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Pingchuan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Run
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Baohui
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Tiehong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Datong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: An-Chang
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Shi