Structure and Reactivity within Ultrathin Molecular Films

Abstract

A new technique based on the nonlinear optical phenomenon - second harmonic generation - has been developed for probing the structure of nano- to micrometer thickness thin films made of small and medium size organic molecules. It was found that the magnitude of the inter-molecular interaction plays a critical role in determining the growth mechanism, structure, crystallization kinetics, and phase transitions of the thin molecular films. The nonlinear optical technique can even allow the determination of the orientation and alignment of the molecules at the interface between the thin film and the substrate. Order of the molecules in the interfacial layer affects the crystallization mechanism in the thin film.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 27, 2004
Accession Number
ADA426761

Entities

People

  • Hai-Lung Dai

Organizations

  • University of Pennsylvania

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alkenes
  • Chemistry
  • Composite Materials
  • Crystallization
  • Demographic Cohorts
  • Films
  • Heat Of Activation
  • Kinetics
  • Materials
  • Molecules
  • Monomolecular Films
  • Nonlinear Optics
  • Phase Transformations
  • Second Harmonic Generation
  • Thickness
  • Thin Films
  • Transitions

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Nanofabrication and Microfabrication.