Real-time observation and control of pentacene film growth on an artificially structured substrate

Adv Mater. 2009 Dec 28;21(48):4996-5000. doi: 10.1002/adma.200901436. Epub 2009 Oct 2.

Abstract

Suppression of nucleation around a gold electrode during pentacene growth on a SiO2 channel is found by photoemission electron microscopy. Mass flow is driven by the difference between the molecular orientations on SiO2 and gold. The poor connectivity at the channel/electrode boundary causes degradation in the performance of a field-effect transistor, which is found to be improved by self-assembled monolayer treatment on the electrode (see figure; thickness in monolayers (ML)).

Keywords: organic field-effect transistors; pentacene; self-assembled monolayers; thin films.