Design, Characterization, and Electron Hopping Properties ofThin Molecular Films

该奖项由“先进材料与加工项目”颁发，旨在为Murray及其同事在分子薄膜的设计、表征和电子特性方面的研究提供支持。本研究的目的是：(1)利用原位原子力显微镜（AFM）和椭偏仪研究具有离散电子跳位的超薄介电和导电薄膜的电化学形成；(2)利用原子力显微镜尖端在薄膜上形成图案孔并在孔中重新沉积其他薄膜材料，制备纳米结构；(3)通过测量霍尔效应和磁电阻，研究缺乏离子电导率的混合价分子薄膜的输运性质。薄膜组件将用于电子和空穴注入触点、整流分子结、薄膜晶体管和分子发光器件。这项高度跨学科的研究将探索薄膜合成和表征的潜在基础化学，开发生产纳米结构的新技术，并推进对电子跳变控制电荷传输的设备物理的理解。

This award, made in the Advanced Materials and Processing Program, extends support for the research of Murray and coworkers on the design, characterization and electronic properties of thin molecular films. The goals of the research are to (1) study the electrochemical formation of ultrathin dielectric and conductive films with discrete electron-hopping sites by in-situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ellipsometry; (2) Prepare nanostructures by using the AFM tip to create patterned holes in the films and to re-deposit other thin film materials in the holes, and (3) study transport properties of mixed valent molecular films which lack ionic conductivity by measuring the Hall effect and magnetoresistance. Assemblies of the films will be utilized in electron and hole-injecting contacts, rectifying molecular junctions, thin film transistors and molecular light emitting devices. %%% This highly interdisciplinary research will explore the underlying fundamental chemistry of thin film synthesis and characterization, develop new technology for producing nanostructures and advance the understanding of the physics of devices where charge transport is controlled by electron-hopping.