RUI: Organic Vapor-Liquid-Solid Deposition

Western Washington University, Bellingham WA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will investigate a new approach for fabricating organic molecular crystals (OMC) as films by organic vapor-liquid-solid (OVLS) deposition. OVLS deposition combines aspects of vapor-phase deposition with solution-phase growth using a liquid or liquid crystalline matrix, offering several important advantages compared to conventional physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques. They include the ability to perform deposition at atmospheric pressure with the substrate near ambient temperature, crystallites much larger in size than PVD films, compatibility with a wide range of molecular building blocks and vapor generation methods, as well as the ability to exert greater control over growth habit, film morphology, and crystallographic orientation. The research will train a total of six to nine undergraduates and one to two high school students. %%% Over the last ten years a new and very promising technology has begun to emerge which aims to replace the silicon used in conventional electronics with organic molecules. Sometimes referred to as "plastic electronics," this technology may eventually be used to produce extremely low cost, light weight and mechanically flexible electronic devices such as wallpaper or fabrics that can display color images, roof tiles to collect solar energy, and credit cards that can retain and secure information. However plastic electronics must overcome several technical hurdles before having widespread commercial impact. One of these concerns the quality of the thin films of molecules used to conduct electricity. Using current approaches, these films have numerous flaws which can only be eliminated using very expensive fabrication methods. This research will investigate a new approach to preparing films for plastic electronics that may result in significantly improved performance, while lowering the cost of production. The research will be carried out primarily by undergraduate students in a collaboration involving chemists and physicists.