Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 23 January 2004:
Vol. 303. no. 5657, pp. 507 - 510
DOI: 10.1126/science.1092627
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Mesoporous Silicates Prepared Using Preorganized Templates in Supercritical Fluids

Rajaram A. Pai,1 Raashina Humayun,2 Michelle T. Schulberg,2 Archita Sengupta,2 Jia-Ning Sun,2 James J. Watkins1*

Well-ordered mesoporous silicate films were prepared by infusion and selective condensation of silicon alkoxides within microphase-separated block copolymer templates dilated with supercritical carbon dioxide. Confinement of metal oxide deposition to specific subdomains of the preorganized template yields high-fidelity, three-dimensional replication of the copolymer morphology, enabling the preparation of structures with multiscale order in a process that closely resembles biomineralization. Ordered mesoporous silicate films were synthesized with dielectric constants as low as 1.8 and excellent mechanical properties. The films survive the chemical-mechanical polishing step required for device manufacturing.

1 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
2 Novellus Systems Inc., 4000 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95134, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: watkins{at}ecs.umass.edu

Read the Full Text

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)