Patent ID: 7767265

Claim:
A process for producing a microstructure comprising: a first step for arranging, on a substrate, a polymer layer containing a block copolymer having at least a first segment and a second segment; a second step for thermally treating the substrate, at a neutral temperature at which the interfacial tension between a first material constituting the first block and the surface of the substrate is substantially equal to the interfacial tension between a second material constituting the second block and the surface of the substrate, to induce phase separation of the polymer layer to produce a structure formed of a continuous phase containing the first block and a microdomain oriented in the thickness direction of the continuous phase and containing the second block; and a third step for cooling the substrate from the neutral temperature to the glass transition temperature of the block copolymer or lower at a rate sufficient for keeping the phase-separated structure produced at the neutral temperature intact.