Ultrathin Film Molecular Materials: Characterization of Self-Organizing Discotic Materials and Organic Heterojunction Formation, at the Nanometer Scale

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Professor Neal Armstrong of the University of Arizona is funded by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program to prepare and characterize ordered thin films of organic materials for electronic applications. Interface-induced disorder in layers lowers carrier mobility and therefore could limit organic materials' use in molecular electronics. The PI proposes to modify phthalocyanine-based discotic materials to facilitate polymerization and alignment by self-organization. Two surface modifications will be used to enable the alignment: chemically modified substrates and capillary channels. The materials will be characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), including conductive tip AFM, and photoemission spectroscopy. This technologically relevant class of organic materials has potential uses in electronic devices such as field effect transistors and photovoltaics. Molecular electronics for miniaturization is one of the goals of nanotechnology.