MRI: Development of Controlled Vacuum Growth of Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Structures and Devices

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

CTS-0116451 MRI: Controlled Vacuum Growth of Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Structures and Devices Vladimir Bulovic Massachusetts Institute of Technology $239,301 ABSTRACT This award supports development of a versatile materials-growth system for controlled deposition of organic, inorganic, and hybrid multilayer structures. It appears that this will be the first system ever built capable of solvent-free, vacuum deposition of thin films of inorganic nanocrystals (such as CdSe and CdTe nanodots) that will also accommodate solvent-free deposition and co-deposition of polymers, colloids, and molecular organic materials. The completed growth system will integrate a novel method for physical and vapor phase deposition of hybrid organic/inorganic thin-films with a low-pressure RF/DC sputtering chamber and an evaporative growth chamber. The completed vacuum system will be capable of depositing molecular organics, polymers, metals, metal oxides, inorganic nanodots, and colloids in a controlled layer-by-layer fashion. An in-situ shadow masking system will enable fabrication of complex patterned structures inside a vacuum environment, while the integrated N2-filled, dry glove box will facilitate handling, measuring, and packaging of organic thin film samples that are susceptible to reactions with atmospheric oxygen and water vapor. Completed samples will be tested in-situ in the analysis chamber by contacting them with an electrical probe attached to an X-Y-Z manipulator. Optical ports on the chamber allow for a telescopic view of the devices and facilitate optical excitation of probed samples. The integrated AFM/STM chamber will facilitate in-situ atomic scale microscopy necessary for evaluating properties of hybrid materials. The research goal in this program is to integrate physical and functional properties of inorganic nanodots into active optoelectronic devices. The resulting nano-scale hybrid organic/inorganic-materials structures are expected to have unique properties and to exceed functional capability of purely organic solids, enabling the development of devices such as photodetectors, LEDs, lasers, modulators, and waveguides with superior properties compared to the present state of the art. Development of active hybrid organic/inorganic optoelectronics will lead to investigations of physical processes in hybrid materials such as exciton energy transfer, photogeneration, and charged-carrier transport. These fundamental studies will have a direct impact on practical applications of hybrid solids in optoelectronic devices, influencing development of hybrid thin films, heterojunctions, multilayers, quantum wells, and nano-patterned organic/inorganic materials for a new generation of high-technology devices.