Patent ID: 8822133

Claim:
A method of forming a pattern, comprising: irradiating a portion of an underlayer comprising an acid sensitive copolymer comprising an acid decomposable group, an attachment group, and a functional group, the attachment group being covalently bonded to a hydrophilic surface of a substrate, crosslinked to form an interpolymer crosslink, or both covalently bonded to the surface of the substrate and crosslinked to form an interpolymer crosslink, and a photoacid generator, where the functional group is operative to adjust the neutrality of the acid-sensitive copolymer; wherein the acid decomposable group reacts with an acid generated from the photoacid generator in the irradiated portion of the underlayer to form a polar region at a surface of the underlayer, the polar region having a shape and dimension of the pattern, forming a self-assembling layer on the surface of the underlayer, the self-assembling layer comprising a block copolymer having a first block with an affinity for the polar region, and a second block having less affinity for the polar region than the first block, wherein first block forms a first domain aligned to the polar region, and the second block forms a second domain aligned adjacent to the first domain, and removing either the first or second domain to expose an underlying portion of the underlayer.