Self-assembled ferromagnetic and superparamagnetic structures of hybrid Fe block copolymers

Self-assembled 2D structures on thin films of block copolymers/Fe hybrid materials were fabricated on Si/Ta substrates, either by wet chemistry or laser irradiation at 157 nm. The polymer exhibits micelle-like structures with average dimensions of 5–10 nm and 30–50 nm for light and chemically reduced films respectively. For the laser processed films, SQUID measurements reveal a ferromagnetic response at 5 K, and 100 Oe coercivity was obtained for 2:1 iron concentration. For chemically reduced films, on the other hand, a superparamagnetic response with near zero coercivity at 5 K was obtained.