High-Mobility, Ultrathin Organic Semiconducting Films Realized by Surface-Mediated Crystallization

Vladimirov, I.; Kellermeier, M.; Gessner, T.; Molla, Zarah; Grigorian, S.; Pietsch, U.; Schaffroth, L. S.; Kuehn, M.; May, F. and Weitz, R. T. (2018): High-Mobility, Ultrathin Organic Semiconducting Films Realized by Surface-Mediated Crystallization. In: Nano Letters, Vol. 18, No. 1: pp. 9-14

Abstract

The functionality of common organic semiconductor materials is determined by their chemical structure and crystal modification. While the former can be fine-tuned via synthesis, a priori control over the crystal structure has remained elusive. We show that the surface tension is the main driver for the plate-like crystallization of a novel small organic molecule n-type semiconductor at the liquid-air interface. This interface provides an ideal environment for the growth of millimeter-sized semiconductor platelets that are only few nanometers thick and thus highly attractive for application in transistors. On the basis of the novel high-performance perylene diimide, we show in as-grown, only 3 nm thin crystals electron mobilities of above 4 cm(2)/(Vs) and excellent bias stress stability. We suggest that the established systematics on solvent parameters can provide the basis of a general framework for a more deterministic crystallization of other small molecules.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Research Centers: Center for NanoScience (CENS)
• Subjects: 500 Science > 500 Science
• ISSN: 1530-6984
• Language: English