title: Mapping the structural order of laser-induced periodic surface structures in thin polymer films by microfocus beam grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering.
abstract: In this work we present an accurate mapping of the structural order of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) in spin-coated thin polymer films, via a microfocus beam grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (μGISAXS) scan, GISAXS modeling, and atomic force microscopy imaging all along the scanned area. This combined study has allowed the evaluation of the effects on LIPSS formation due to nonhomogeneous spatial distribution of the laser pulse energy, mapping with micrometric resolution the evolution of the period and degree of structural order of LIPSS across the laser beam diameter in a direction perpendicular to the polarization vector. The experiments presented go one step further toward controlling nanostructure formation in LIPSS through a deep understanding of the parameters that influence this process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Surrey , Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martín-Fabiani
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rebollar
authors.forename: Mari Cruz
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: García-Gutiérrez
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Rueda
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castillejo
authors.forename: Tiberio A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Ezquerra
keywords: grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering; laser-induced periodic surface structures; microfocus; polymer; thin films