Exploring the limits of real-time studies of growth of molecular and hybrid systems

分子和混合金属/分子薄膜的生长是一个复杂的非平衡过程，尤其涉及ad-物种成核、表面和层间扩散以及可能的分子重新取向。这些因素往往会导致瞬态结构的出现和电子性质的显着变化。在这个项目中，我们将跟踪有机半导体（苯并菲）薄膜的生长和混合有机金属结构的形成，使用实时X射线散射结合互补技术。我们将研究最高可实现的时间和q-分辨率的薄膜结构的出现，同时捕捉大部分的q-空间，从而尽可能全面，通过结合漫反射和镜面X射线散射实验，国家的最先进的仪器，先进的数据分析，采用唯象和原子模型。特别关注的是漫散射的时间演化的分析。利用同步辐射和区域探测器技术的最新改进，该项目的结果将揭示薄膜生长的基本过程及其复杂的动力学，从而探索快速原位生长研究的实验极限。

Growth of molecular and hybrid metal/molecular thin films is a complex non-equilibrium process involving inter alia ad-species nucleation, surface and inter-layer diffusion, and possibly molecular reorientation. These factors often result in the appearance of transient structures and pronounced changes of the electronic properties. In this project, we will follow the growth of organic semiconductor (phenacene) thin films and the formation of hybrid organic-metal structures using real-time X-ray scattering in combination with complementary techniques. We will study the emergence of the thin film structure with the highest achievable time and q-resolution, while capturing at the same time large sections of q-space and thus being as comprehensive as possible, by combining diffuse and specular X-ray scattering experiments, state-of-the-art instrumentation, and advanced data analysis employing phenomenological and atomistic models. Particular focus will be on the analysis of the time evolution of the diffuse scattering. Exploiting recent improvements of synchrotron radiation and area detector technology, the results of this project will shed light on the fundamental processes of thin film growth and its complex dynamics, and thereby explore the experimental limits for rapid in situ growth studies.