Pattern replication examined with integral geometry approach: application to ion milling of polymer blend films

An extension of the integral geometry approach, proposed to characterize pattern replication, was used to compare quantitatively the surface pattern of spin-cast polymer blend films with that replicated in their substrate by ion milling. The original and replicated patterns, recorded with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and analyzed in terms of the Minkowski measures plotted as a function of height, were characterized by the vertical extent and lateral morphological measures. Good, moderate, and far from ideal replication was discussed for various types (island-, hole-dominated, and bicontinuous, respectively) of the original pattern, formed by binary (deuterated) polystyrene mixtures with polyisoprene and poly(n-butyl methacrylate).