Mapping the structural order of laser-induced periodic surface structures in thin polymer films by microfocus beam grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering

8 pags,; 7 figs.; 1 tab.© 2015 American Chemical Society. 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 (¿GISAXS) 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.The authors acknowledge financial support from MINECO (grants MAT2009-07789, CTQ2010-15680, CTQ2013-43086, MAT2011-23455 and MAT2012-33517, FPI BES-2010- 030074 and Ramón y Cajal contract RYC-2011-08069). The assistance of S. Roth at PO3 (PETRA III) is greatly acknowledged.Peer Reviewe