Yu. A. Panina

Structure of vacant electronic states of an oxidized germanium surface upon deposition of perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride films

This paper presents the results of the investigation of the interface potential barrier and vacant electronic states in the energy range of 5 to 20 eV above the Fermi level (EF) in the deposition of perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) films on the oxidized germanium surface ((GeO2)Ge). The concentration of oxide on the (GeO2)Ge surface was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In the experiments, we used the recording of the reflection of a test low-energy electron beam from the surface, implemented in the mode of total current spectroscopy. The theoretical analysis involves the calculation of the energy and spatial distribution of the orbitals of PTCDA molecules by the density functional theory (DFT) using B3LYP functional with the basis 6-31G(d), followed by the scaling of the calculated values of the orbital energy according to the procedure well-proven in the studies of small organic conjugated molecules. The pattern of changes in the fine structure of the total current spectra with increasing thickness of the PTCDA coating on the (GeO2)Ge surface to 6 nm was studied. At energies below 9 eV above EF, there is a maximum of the density of unoccupied electron states in the PTCDA film, formed mainly by π* molecular orbitals. The higher density maxima of unoccupied states are of σ* nature. The formation of the interface potential barrier in the deposition of PTCDA at the (GeO2)Ge surface is accompanied by an increase in the work function of the surface, Evac–EF, from 4.6 ± 0.1 to 4.9 ± 0.1 eV. This occurs when the PTCDA coating thickness increases to 3 nm, and upon further deposition of PTCDA, the work function of the surface does not change, which corresponds to the model of formation of a limited polarization layer in the deposited organic film.

Formation of the conduction band electronic structure during deposition of ultrathin dicarboximide-substituted perylene films on the oxidized silicon surface

The results of the investigation of the conduction band electronic structure and the interfacial potential barrier during deposition of ultrathin dicarboximide-substituted perylene films (PTCBI-C8) on the oxidized silicon surface have been presented. The measurements have been performed using the very low energy electron diffraction (VLEED) technique implemented in the total current spectroscopy (TCS) mode with a variation in the incident electron energy from 0 to 25 eV. Changes in the intensities of the maxima from the deposited PTCBI-C8 film and from the substrate with an increase in the organic coating thickness to 7 nm have been analyzed using TCS measurements. A comparison of the structure of the maxima of PTCBI-C8 and perylene-tetracarboxylic-dianhydride (PTCDA) films has made it possible to distinguish the energy range (8–13 eV above EF) in which distinct differences in the structures of maxima for PTCDA and PTCBI-C8 films are observed. This energy range corresponds to low-lying σ*-states of the conduction band of the films studied. The formation of the interfacial region of the PTCBI-C8 film and (SiO2)n-Si substrate is accompanied by an increase in the surface work function by 0.6 eV, which corresponds to the electron density charge transfer from the (SiO2)n-Si substrate to the PTCBI-C8 film.

Electronic structure of the conduction band of the interface region of ultrathin films of substituted perylenedicarboximides and the germanium oxide surface

The results of the investigation of the electronic structure of the conduction band and the interfacial potential barrier during the formation of interfaces of dioctyl-substituted perylenedicarboximide (PTCDI-C8) and diphenyl-substituted perylenedicarboximide (PTCDI-Ph) ultrathin films with the oxidized germanium surface have been presented. The experimental results have been obtained using the very low energy electron diffraction (VLEED) technique in the total current spectroscopy (TCS) mode at energies in the range from 5 to 20 eV above the Fermi level EF. The positions of the maxima of the fine structure of total current spectra (FSTCS) of the PTCDI-C8 and PTCDI-Ph films differ significantly in the energy range from 9 to 20 eV above the Fermi level EF, which can be associated with the difference between the substituents of the chosen molecules, dioctyl- and diphenyl-, respectively. At the same time, the positions of the lowenergy maxima in the FSTCS spectra at an energy 6–7 eV above the Fermi level EF for the PTCDI-C8 and PTCDI-Ph films almost coincide with each other. It has been suggested that these maxima are attributed to the electronic states of the perylene core of the molecules under investigation. The process of the formation of interfacial potential barriers of the PTCDI-C8 and PTCDI-Ph films with the oxidized germanium surface has been analyzed. It has been found that the work functions of the surface, Evac–EF, differ little from 4.6 ± 0.1 eV over the entire range of organic coating thicknesses from 0 to 6 nm.

Water-soluble copper phthalocyanine for optimization of gas-sensor characteristics of tin dioxide upon adsorption of ammonia

This paper presents the results of the investigation into the electrical conductivity of thin films based on tin dioxide (SnO2) nanoparticles, a film consisting of copper phthalocyanine-3,4′,4″,4‴-tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt (CuPc–4SO3Na) molecules, and a composite film based on a mixture of equal parts by volume of the two materials upon adsorption of ammonia. The adsorption experiments have been carried out in a vacuum at room temperature with an increase in the ammonia pressure to 3 × 103 Pa from the residual gas base pressure of 5 × 10–1 Pa. It has been found that, in the case of a single-component film based on SnO2 nanoparticles, an increase in the electrical conductivity reaches 100% and is not completely reversible at room temperature after evacuation of the gas. For the single-component CuPc–4SO3Na film and the composite CuPc–4SO3Na/SnO2 film, the electrical conductivities increase by a factor of 400 and 150, respectively. Upon evacuation of ammonia to the base pressure, the electrical conductivity decreases to the initial values for 1 s. The mechanism of the influence of adsorbed ammonia molecules on the electrical conductivity of the composite material under investigation has been discussed using the model of the formation of the composite sample, according to which the organic component is located in voids between the SnO2 nanoparticles.

Erratum to: “Electronic properties of ultrathin films based on pyrrolofullerene molecules on the surface of oxidized silicon”

Results of the investigation into the interface formation during the deposition of the films based on aziridinylphenylpyrrolofullerene (APP-C60) up to 8 nm thick on the surface of the oxidized silicon substrate are presented. The procedure of detecting reflection of testing low-energy electron beam from the surface implemented in the total current spectroscopy mode with a change in the incident electron energy from 0 to 25 eV is used. The structure of maxima in the total current spectra induced by the APP-C60 deposited film is established, and the character of interrelation of these maxima with π* and σ* energy bands in the studied materials is determined. It is revealed due to analyzing the variation in intensities of the total current spectra of the deposited APP-C60 film and the (SiO2)n-Si substrate that the APP-C60 film is formed at the early deposition stage with the coating thickness thinner than one monolayer without the formation of the intermediate modified organic layer. As the APP-C60/(SiO2)n-Si interface is formed, the work function of the surface increases by 0.7 eV, which corresponds to the transfer of the electron density from substrate (SiO2)n-Si toward the film APP-C60. The optical absorption spectra of the APP-C60 films are measured and compared with the spectra of films of unsubstituted C60.

Density of unoccupied electronic states of vapor-deposited films of dioctyl-substituted and diphenyl-substituted perylenedicarboximides

The results of the investigation of the density of unoccupied electronic states (DOUS) in the energy range from 5 to 20 eV above the Fermi level (EF) in dioctyl-substituted perylenedicarboximide (PTCDI-C8) and diphenyl-substituted perylenedicarboximide (PTCDI-Ph) ultrathin films have been presented. The experimental results have been obtained from measurements of the secondary low-energy electron current with the use of the total current spectroscopy (TCS) technique. A theoretical analysis has been performed, including the density functional theory calculation of the energies and spatial distribution of the orbitals of the molecules under investigation and the subsequent scaling of the calculated orbital energies according to the procedure well-proven previously in studies of small conjugated organic molecules. It has been found that, for each of the two types of the studied films, at energies below 8 eV above the Fermi level EF, there are two main maxima of the density of unoccupied electronic states predominantly formed by the π*-orbitals of the molecules. The higher-lying maxima have essentially a σ*-character. The influence of dioctyl- and diphenyl-substituent groups on the density of unoccupied electronic states has been analyzed in comparison with the results obtained for the studied types of films. In the case of the π*-maxima, the relative shift has been observed at an energy of approximately 1 eV. In the region of σ*-electronic states, there is a small transformation of the structure of the maxima.

Electronic structure of the conduction band upon the formation of ultrathin fullerene films on the germanium oxide surface

The results of the investigation of the electronic structure of the conduction band in the energy range 5–25 eV above the Fermi level EF and the interfacial potential barrier upon deposition of aziridinylphenylpyrrolofullerene (APP-C60) and fullerene (C60) films on the surface of the real germanium oxide ((GeO2)Ge) have been presented. The content of the oxide on the (GeO2)Ge surface has been determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electronic properties have been measured using the very low energy electron diffraction (VLEED) technique in the total current spectroscopy (TCS) mode. The regularities of the change in the fine structure of total current spectra (FSTCS) with an increase in the thickness of the APP-C60 and C60 coatings to 7 nm have been investigated. A comparison of the structures of the FSTCS maxima for the C60 and APP-C60 films has made it possible to reveal the energy range (6–10 eV above the Fermi level EF) in which the energy states are determined by both the π* and σ* states and the FSTCS spectra have different structures of the maxima for the APP-C60 and unsubstituted C60 films. The formation of the interfacial potential barrier upon deposition of APP-C60 and C60 on the (GeO2)Ge surface is accompanied by an increase in the work function of the surface Evac–EF by the value of 0.2–0.3 eV, which corresponds to the transfer of the electron density from the substrate to the organic films under investigation. The largest changes occur with an increase in the coating thickness to 3 nm, and with further deposition of APP-C60 and C60, the work function of the surface changes only slightly.

Transmission of low-energy electrons through ultrathin layers of tin(IV) phthalocyanine oxide

The results of the investigation of the transmission of low-energy electrons through 8-nm-thick films of tin(IV) phthalocyanine oxide (SnOPc) on the surface of the oxidized silicon substrate are presented. The procedure of detecting the reflection of testing low-energy electron beam from the surface was implemented using the very low-energy electron diffraction (VLEED) technique in the total current spectroscopy (TCS) mode with a change in the incident electron beam energy from 0 to 25 eV. The structure of maxima in the total current spectra of SnOPc films was established and the variation in intensities of the maxima of total current spectra emitted from the deposited SnOPc film and (SiO2)n-Si substrate during an increase in the thickness of the organic coating to 8 nm was analyzed. With such an increase in the thickness of the organic coating, the work function of the surface increases by 0.7 eV, which corresponds to the transfer of the electron density from the (SiO2)n-Si substrate to the SnOPc film. Optical absorption spectra of SnOPc films were measured. The absorption spectra were compared with the spectra measured by the TCS method for the SnOPc films and the films of molecules of oxygen-free metal phthalocyanine.

Unoccupied Electron States and the Formation of Interface between Films of Dimethyl-Substituted Thiophene–Phenylene Coolygomers and Oxidized Silicon Surface

The unoccupied electron states and the boundary potential barrier during deposition of ultrathin films of dimethyl-substituted thiophene–phenylene coolygomers of the type of CH3–phenylene–thiophene–thiophene–phenylene–CH3 (CH3–PTTP–CH3) on an oxidized silicon surface have been studied. The electronic characteristics have been measured in the energy range from 5 to 20 eV above the Fermi level using total current spectroscopy (TCS). The structure of the CH3–PTTP–CH3 film surfaces has been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the atomic compositions of the films have been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The changes in the maximum intensities measured by the TCS method obtained from the deposited CH3–PTTP–CH3 film and from the substrate during increasing in the organic coating thickness to 6 nm is discussed. The formation of the boundary potential barrier in the n-Si/SiO2/CH3–PTTP–CH3 is accompanied by the decrease in the surface work function from 4.2 ± 0.1 to 4.0 ± 0.1 eV as the organic coating thickness increases to 3 nm. The ratio of atomic concentrations C: S in the CH3–PTTP–CH3 films well corresponds to the chemical formula of CH3–PTTP–CH3 molecules. The roughness of the CH3–PTTP–CH3 coating surface was not higher than 10 nm on the ~10 × 10 μm areas as the total CH3–PTTP–CH3-layer thickness was about 100 nm.

Density of Electronic States in the Conduction Band of Ultrathin Films of Naphthalenedicarboxylic Anhydride and Naphthalenetetracarboxylic Dianhydride on the Surface of Oxidized Silicon

The results of examination of the electronic structure of the conduction band of naphthalenedicarboxylic anhydride (NDCA) films in the process of their deposition on the surface of oxidized silicon are presented. These results were obtained using total current spectroscopy (TCS) in the energy range from 5 to 20 eV above the Fermi level. The energy position of the primary maxima of the density of unoccupied states (DOUS) of an NDCA film was determined based on the experimental TCS data and calculated data and compared with the position of the DOUS maxima of a naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA) film. The theoretical analysis involved calculating the energies and the spatial distribution of orbitals of the molecules under study at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) DFT (density functional theory) level and correcting the obtained energies in accordance with the procedure that was proven effective in earlier studies of the conduction band of films of small conjugated organic molecules. It was found that the DOUS maxima of the NTCDA film in the studied energy interval from 5 to 20 eV above the Fermi level are shifted toward lower electron energies by 1–2 eV relative to the corresponding DOUS maxima of the NDCA film Subdivision of the Ufa Federal Research Centre of the.