Organic, cluster assembled and nano-hybrid materials produced by supersonic beams: Growth and applications to prototype device development

An approach to the growth of films of ?-conjugated organic materials, cluster assembled and nanohybrid materials combining supersonic free jets with a UHV deposition apparatus including surface characterization methods will be discussed. The unique control achievable with supersonic beams on initial kinetic energy, momentum and state of aggregation enables the growth of materials with controlled properties at different length scales. Results obtained with organic semiconductors and oligomers point out the crucial role of kinetic energy in growing organic crystalline films with well controlled morphologies and structures. By means of supersonic beams of clusters, nanocrystalline metal oxide films can be grown without annealing, so that grain size and morphology can be better controlled. In a co-deposition scheme these interesting features are combined in order to obtain a new class of hybrid functional materials with appealing properties for electronics, gas sensing and photovoltaic applications.