Scientific concept

The aim of this project is fabrication of novel molecular nanostructures on prepatterned vicinal silicon surfaces and investigate their structural and electronic properties both experimentally and theoretically. Organic molecules due to their extraordinary features: suitability for low temperature processes, efficient electroluminescence, charge carrier mobility are considered as material of new electronics with wide range of applications. At the nanoscale, it is known that the key factor which determines the performance is ordering of molecular nanostructures components. Thus, precise controlling conformation of building-blocks is of great importance and still remains experimentally challenging. Most promising method for fabrication of large-scale functional structures are self-assembly and self-organization of organic molecules on solid surfaces. Prepatterned vicinal silicon surfaces can drive the molecules to set-up in desired configuration. They exhibit atomically-precise, strongly anisotropic, periodic pattern over large areas, thus one can expect to obtain one-dimensional (1D) molecular conductors, which can serve as links between systems of higher dimensionality.

The goal of the project is to study on growth mode and self-organization processes of different molecular species on Si vicinal surfaces decorated initially by metal atoms. Understanding of adsorption mechanism and its electronic character is important for organic-inorganic hetero-junction devices. Characterization of properties of such systems is non-trivial, therefore advanced experimental and theoretical techniques will be involved in parallel.