Paper TF+EM+SS-ThA11
Contact-Free Electrical Characterization of Molecular Layers using CREM

Thursday, November 3, 2011, 5:20 pm, Room 110

While generally recognized as a powerful analytical tool, XPS is insensitive to hydrogen atoms and, in many cases, to fine variations in the environment of carbon atoms. As such, XPS characterization of organic molecular layers is rather limited, in particular under demands for high overlayer quality. On the other hand, a recent XPS-based technique for chemically resolved electrical measurements (CREM) proposes high sensitivity to even small amounts of defects or organization imperfections [1,2].

Here, CREM application to monolayers self-assembled on metallic or semiconducting substrates is overviewed, demonstrating some of the unique capabilities offered by this non-contact probe. Damage evolution under irradiation is specifically discussed; two of its extreme limits being modeled, yielding the effect of corresponding defect sites on the CREM-derived I-V curves. Potential applications to molecular electronics, approaching atomic resolution in the electrical data, will be discussed.

1. I. Doron Mor et al., Nature 406, 382 (2000).
2. H. Cohen, Applied Physics Letters 85, 1271 (2004).