Area-selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites: Designed kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for anisotropic molecules

Micro-patterning of organic thin films plays a crucial role for organic electronics. Due to the high resolution over large areas, several photo-lithography compatible techniques for the patterning of organic films were developed. As a promising candidate, area-selective growth (ASG), i.e., the growt...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yue Jiang, Liang Shi, Naibo Chen, Laigui Hu, Wenchong Wang, Qingmiao Nie, Bo Yan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-01-01
Series:Results in Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379722007598
_version_ 1828061862523043840
author Yue Jiang
Liang Shi
Naibo Chen
Laigui Hu
Wenchong Wang
Qingmiao Nie
Bo Yan
author_facet Yue Jiang
Liang Shi
Naibo Chen
Laigui Hu
Wenchong Wang
Qingmiao Nie
Bo Yan
author_sort Yue Jiang
collection DOAJ
description Micro-patterning of organic thin films plays a crucial role for organic electronics. Due to the high resolution over large areas, several photo-lithography compatible techniques for the patterning of organic films were developed. As a promising candidate, area-selective growth (ASG), i.e., the growth of molecules on patterned surface for nucleation control, has been proposed. Experimentally, two typical molecules, categorized into non-planar and planar molecular configuration, exhibit different growth behavior, which is mechanistically attributed to binding energy difference and step-edge induction on patterned surface. Benefiting from the diffusion and nucleation sites control of the different configuration molecules, patterning and separation of multi-species molecules at micro-scale were demonstrated. For the ASG of non-planar molecules, the molecular dynamics has been well explored using the kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations. However, little attention is paid to the step-edge induced ASG for anisotropic molecules. Here, we introduce a coarse-grained anisotropic interaction model in the KMC algorithm to simulate the step-edge induced ASG. Our results reveal that the edges of electrode (Au) patterns become preferential nucleation sites at initial stage, followed by the lateral growth of subsequent particles due to the strong π-π interactions. In combination with the KMC simulation for binding energy difference mechanism, separation of different particles on designed locations are theoretically demonstrated to mimic the molecular separation that experimentally observed. Our results also validate the KMC simulation as a powerful means for the ASG process of anisotropic molecules in a microscopic view, in addition to the ASG process of isotropic molecules. We believe that the KMC method will provide a deeper insight of the ASG method for organic molecules with different molecular architectures.
first_indexed 2024-04-10T22:20:26Z
format Article
id doaj.art-fdc7a76df75c45518af3cc8940fd2c3b
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2211-3797
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-10T22:20:26Z
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Results in Physics
spelling doaj.art-fdc7a76df75c45518af3cc8940fd2c3b2023-01-18T04:30:32ZengElsevierResults in Physics2211-37972023-01-0144106145Area-selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites: Designed kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for anisotropic moleculesYue Jiang0Liang Shi1Naibo Chen2Laigui Hu3Wenchong Wang4Qingmiao Nie5Bo Yan6Department of Applied Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology, 288, Liuhe Road, Hangzhou 310023, ChinaDepartment of Applied Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology, 288, Liuhe Road, Hangzhou 310023, ChinaDepartment of Applied Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology, 288, Liuhe Road, Hangzhou 310023, ChinaSchool of Information Science and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, ChinaPhysikalisches Institut and Center for Nanotechnology, Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 10, 48149 Münster, Germany; Corresponding authors.Department of Applied Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology, 288, Liuhe Road, Hangzhou 310023, China; Corresponding authors.Department of Applied Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology, 288, Liuhe Road, Hangzhou 310023, China; Corresponding authors.Micro-patterning of organic thin films plays a crucial role for organic electronics. Due to the high resolution over large areas, several photo-lithography compatible techniques for the patterning of organic films were developed. As a promising candidate, area-selective growth (ASG), i.e., the growth of molecules on patterned surface for nucleation control, has been proposed. Experimentally, two typical molecules, categorized into non-planar and planar molecular configuration, exhibit different growth behavior, which is mechanistically attributed to binding energy difference and step-edge induction on patterned surface. Benefiting from the diffusion and nucleation sites control of the different configuration molecules, patterning and separation of multi-species molecules at micro-scale were demonstrated. For the ASG of non-planar molecules, the molecular dynamics has been well explored using the kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations. However, little attention is paid to the step-edge induced ASG for anisotropic molecules. Here, we introduce a coarse-grained anisotropic interaction model in the KMC algorithm to simulate the step-edge induced ASG. Our results reveal that the edges of electrode (Au) patterns become preferential nucleation sites at initial stage, followed by the lateral growth of subsequent particles due to the strong π-π interactions. In combination with the KMC simulation for binding energy difference mechanism, separation of different particles on designed locations are theoretically demonstrated to mimic the molecular separation that experimentally observed. Our results also validate the KMC simulation as a powerful means for the ASG process of anisotropic molecules in a microscopic view, in addition to the ASG process of isotropic molecules. We believe that the KMC method will provide a deeper insight of the ASG method for organic molecules with different molecular architectures.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379722007598Kinetic Monte CarloArea-selective growthAnisotropic molecules
spellingShingle Yue Jiang
Liang Shi
Naibo Chen
Laigui Hu
Wenchong Wang
Qingmiao Nie
Bo Yan
Area-selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites: Designed kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for anisotropic molecules
Results in Physics
Kinetic Monte Carlo
Area-selective growth
Anisotropic molecules
title Area-selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites: Designed kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for anisotropic molecules
title_full Area-selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites: Designed kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for anisotropic molecules
title_fullStr Area-selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites: Designed kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for anisotropic molecules
title_full_unstemmed Area-selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites: Designed kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for anisotropic molecules
title_short Area-selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites: Designed kinetic Monte Carlo simulation for anisotropic molecules
title_sort area selective growth for patterning and separation of molecules at allocated sites designed kinetic monte carlo simulation for anisotropic molecules
topic Kinetic Monte Carlo
Area-selective growth
Anisotropic molecules
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379722007598
work_keys_str_mv AT yuejiang areaselectivegrowthforpatterningandseparationofmoleculesatallocatedsitesdesignedkineticmontecarlosimulationforanisotropicmolecules
AT liangshi areaselectivegrowthforpatterningandseparationofmoleculesatallocatedsitesdesignedkineticmontecarlosimulationforanisotropicmolecules
AT naibochen areaselectivegrowthforpatterningandseparationofmoleculesatallocatedsitesdesignedkineticmontecarlosimulationforanisotropicmolecules
AT laiguihu areaselectivegrowthforpatterningandseparationofmoleculesatallocatedsitesdesignedkineticmontecarlosimulationforanisotropicmolecules
AT wenchongwang areaselectivegrowthforpatterningandseparationofmoleculesatallocatedsitesdesignedkineticmontecarlosimulationforanisotropicmolecules
AT qingmiaonie areaselectivegrowthforpatterningandseparationofmoleculesatallocatedsitesdesignedkineticmontecarlosimulationforanisotropicmolecules
AT boyan areaselectivegrowthforpatterningandseparationofmoleculesatallocatedsitesdesignedkineticmontecarlosimulationforanisotropicmolecules