Organic films deposited by spin coating, immersion and vapor phase

As the total transistors and interconnects sizes come down to a few tens of nanometers and below, a shift in paradigm for the manufacture and integration of microelectronics components becomes apparent. Organic molecules - owing to their size, mechanical flexibility and chemical tunability - fit well in this slot and, thus, are expected to play a key role in IC downscaling. In this respect, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) seem the best candidates. SAMs are a prototypical form of nanotechnology: the SAM precursor molecules carry the “instructions” required to generate an ordered, nanostructured material without external intervention. SAMs demonstrate that molecular-scale design, synthesis, and organization can generate macroscopic materials properties and functions. Although the details of the thermodynamics, kinetics, and mechanisms of assembly will differ significantly, these monomolecular films establish a model for developing general strategies to fabricate nanostructured materials from individual nanometer-scale components. Because SAMs can assemble onto surfaces of any geometry or size, they provide a general and highly flexible method to tailor the interfaces between nanometer-scale structures and their environment with molecular (i.e., subnanometer scale) precision. SAMs and polymeric films can control the wettability and electrostatic nature of the interfaces of individual nanostructures and thus their ability to organize into large assemblies and interact with overlayers adding chemical functionality, thermodynamic stability. While deposition on SAMs by dipping is already being extensively studied, SAM spin-on from organic solvents is relatively unexplored.  The first phase of this project will focus on the deposition and characterization (water contact angle, FTIR, XPS, AFM, ..)  of SAMs and eventually functionalized polymeric films on metal, and oxide surfaces by spin-on from organic solvents. The study includes substrate surface preparation before SAM or polymer deposition and the impact of post- treatments such as anneal, gas flow and/or wet chemistries. The final aim of this work is to achieve a dense, ordered and defect-free organic films. The second phase of this project consists in the comparison of the quality of SAMs deposited by spin-on, immersion and from the vapor phase.