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In this work, we investigated in details the dewetting process on flat and chemically patterned surfaces of ultrathin films (thickness between 2 and 15 nm) of a cylinder forming polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methyl acrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) spin coated on poly(styrene-r-methyl methyl acrylate) random copolymers (RCPs). When the PS-b-PMMA film dewets on a 2 nm-thick RCP layer, the ordering of the hexagonally packed PMMA cylinders in the dewetted structures extends over distances far exceeding the correlation length obtained in continuous block copolymer (BCP) films. As a result, micrometer-sized circular droplets featuring defectless single grains of self-assembled PS-b-PMMA with PMMA cylinders perpendicularly oriented with respect to the substrate are generated and randomly distributed on the substrate. Additionally, alignment of the droplets along micrometric lines was achieved by performing the dewetting process on large-scale chemically patterned stripes of 2 nm thick RCP films by laser lithography. By properly adjusting the periodicity of the chemical pattern, it was possible to tune and select the geometrical characteristics of the dewetted droplets in terms of maximum thickness, contact angle and diameter while maintaining the defectless single grain perpendicular cylinder morphology of the circular droplets. This activity was performed in close collaboration with collaboration with our colleagues at INRIM and at University of East Piedmont F. Ferrarese Lupi et al. ACS Nano, Article ASAP

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