| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Advanced Surface Engineering | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session SE-TuM |
| Session: | Glancing Angle Deposition |
| Presenter: | M.D. Fleischauer, University of Alberta, Canada |
| Authors: | M.D. Fleischauer, University of Alberta, Canada G.D. Dice, University of Alberta, Canada S. Tsoi, University of Alberta, Canada B. Szeto, University of Alberta / NRC National Institute for Nanotechnology, Canada M.J. Brett, University of Alberta / NRC National Institute for Nanotechnology, Canada |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) has developed in to a widely-used nanostructuring technique because of the wide range of possible structures and material choices. Efforts to understand the fundamental mechanisms central to GLAD, including self-shadowing and limited surface diffusion, have largely focused on metals and oxides. Hrudey et al.1 recently demonstrated that the GLAD technique can also be used for organometallics such as the luminescent material tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3). Unlike their inorganic counterparts, GLAD-fabricated Alq3 nanostructures are smooth, show a self-ordered periodicity, and do not broaden or bifurcate. A solid wetting layer was also observed to form below the Alq3 structures whose thickness varies with deposition conditions. Alq3 molecules differ from metal atoms in that they are larger (1 nm dia.), heavier (ca. 460 a.m.u.), approximately planar, and possess an electronic quadrupole moment. A better understanding of how these properties lead to wetting layer formation, self-ordering, and smooth feature morphology, as a function of deposition conditions, is critical to the future realization of GLAD-nanostructured optical and optoelectronic organic devices. Here, we will present our investigations of the growth of Alq3 nanostructures during GLAD. Methods to control film morphology (including wetting layer thickness) via deposition conditions and substrate preparation will be presented. Special attention will be paid to the initial stages of Alq3 film growth during GLAD, especially compared to initial growth mechanisms observed at normal incidence by Brinkmann et al.,2,3 with an eye towards predicting the behaviour of other organic and organometallic materials in the glancing angle regime.
1P.C.P. Hrudey, K.L. Westra, and M.J. Brett, Adv. Mater. 18, 224 (2006).
2M. Brinkmann, S. Graff, and F. Biscarini, Phys. Rev. B 66, 165430 (2002).
3M. Brinkmann, F. Biscarini, C. Taliani, I. Aiello, and M. Ghedini, Phys. Rev. B, 61, R16339 (2000).