Self-Directed Growth of Contiguous Perpendicular Molecular Lines on H−Si(100) Surfaces

Abstract
Future nanoscale integrated circuits will require the realization of interconnections using molecular-scale nanostructures; a practical fabrication scheme would need to be largely self-assembling and operate on a large number of like structures in parallel. The self-directed growth of organic molecules on hydrogen-terminated silicon(100) [H−Si(100)] offers a simple method of realizing one-dimensional molecular lines. In this work, we introduce the ability to change the growth direction and form more complex, contiguous shapes. Numerous styrene and trimethylene sulfide L shapes were grown on a H−Si(100)-3×1 surface in parallel with no intermediate surface lithography steps, and similar shapes were also grown using allyl mercaptan and benzaldehyde on H−Si(100)-2×1. Registered scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) were used to investigate the growth process.