Control of highly ordered organic molecular thin films with extended π systems is currently of intense interest for integrating molecules into modern electronics due to their tunable nature. Selection of molecules and substrates can lead to desired transport properties such as charge transfer, charge injection, exciton diffusion, etc., at the heterointerface, which is crucial to the development of organic and molecular electronics. However, achieving large-scale molecular ordering remains a significant challenge that requires a thorough understanding of the growth mechanism. I will discuss our recent discovery of the anisotropic crystalline step-flow growth of the prototypical metal phthalocyanine molecules on the deactivated Si(111)-B surface. I will then address the growth mechanism and show that the molecular ordering and molecular orientation can be effectively controlled through selective orbital coupling between the molecule and substrate. Finally, I will illustrate an abnormal temperature dependent growth evolution and discuss the associated mechanism.

This research is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Early Career Research Program (DE-SC0006400) through the Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

Ni-Cr alloys are excellent candidates for use in highly corrosive environments due to the formation of a protective Cr₂O₃ layer. Molybdenum is a common alloying addition as it improves the resistance to localized corrosion and prevents the breakdown of the oxide layer. While the effect of Mo addition on corrosion resistance is well known, the underlying mechanisms at the atomic scale and the role of electronic structure changes due to Mo addition are poorly understood. In the current work, we have used STM/STS to investigate the initial stages of oxidation of Ni, Cr and Ni-Cr (10-25wt.% Cr) alloy thin films and subsequently, the effect of Mo addition (2-10 wt.%) on the oxidation behavior. The alloy thin films are grown on MgO(001) substrates using two recipes that yielded smooth films: (a) deposition at 100 °C and subsequent anneal at 300 °C for 2 hours, and (b) deposition at 400 °C with no post-growth annealing. While recipe (a) yielded smooth Ni films, co-deposition of Ni and Cr resulted in the formation of secondary Ni₂Cr phases. Alloy films grown using recipe (b) did not result in secondary phases and are optimal for oxidation studies of alloy films. STM/STS data of the oxidation (30 L of O₂) of a pure Ni thin film at 200 °C reveal preferential oxidation of some terraces compared to others and indicates a dependence of oxidation rate on the crystallographic orientation of the terrace. dI/dV maps of a Cr surface after 10 L oxidation at 200 °C shows the presence of a bandgap (1.32 eV) throughout the surface and indicates the growth of a uniform oxide layer. In the case of Ni-13wt.%Cr binary alloy, a 25 L exposure (at 1x10^-8 mbar) at 300 °C results in a complete loss of step structure with a fully formed oxide layer as shown by STS spectra. A bandgap of 1.42 eV is observed throughout the surface and this value is less than the bulk bandgap of all possible oxide species (NiO, Cr₂O₃ or mixed). We will present the results of the initial stages of oxidation (<3 L) of the pure Ni thin films and discuss the differences in the oxidation processes due to the addition of 8-25 wt.% Cr. The progression from chemisorption regime (at low temperatures) to the oxide nucleation regime will be shown for different alloys by performing room temperature O₂ exposures and post-exposure annealing cycles and the effect of alloying additions on this transition will be discussed. Preliminary data on the changes in the atomic and electronic structure of the thin film and oxidation behavior due to the addition of Mo will be presented.

Magnetic skyrmion lattice, a vortex-like spin texture recently observed in chiral magnets, is of great interest to future spin-electronic data storage and other information technology applications. The combined effect of a large ferromagnetic exchange and a weak DM interaction is to twist the magnetization into a long-period spiral that can be tens to hundreds of nanometers in length. As these spirals are only weakly bound to the underlying lattice in cubic systems, they can be readily manipulated with modest applied fields. The skyrmion lattice in MnSi appears in a small region (known as the A phase) of the H-T phase diagram in bulk samples, but in 2D samples like thin films the skyrmion phase is much more robust. If skyrmion ordering can persist in one-dimensional MnSi nanowires and 2D films, then these systems are very promising for spintronics applications as the magnetic domains and individual skymions could be manipulated with small currents. We have systematically explored the synthesis of single crystal MnSi nanowires via controlled oxide-assisted chemical vapor deposition and observed a characteristic signature of skyrmion magnetic ordering in MnSi nanowires. The SiO₂ layer plays a key role for the high yield, correct stoichiometric and crystalline growth of the B20 MnSi nanowires. A growth phase diagram was constructed. For the thin films, an unique growth receipt was developed for the growth of high quality of thin films. The structure and magnetic properties of the films at different thickness were studied.

The interaction of sulfur with copper and gold surfaces plays a fundamental role in important phenomena that include coarsening of surface nanostructures, and self-assembly of alkanethiols. Here, we identify and analyze unique sulfur-induced structural motifs observed on the (111) surfaces of these two metals. We choose very specific conditions: very low temperature (5 K), and very low sulfur coverage (≤ 0.05 monolayers, ML). In this region of temperature-coverage space, which has not been examined previously for these adsorbate-metal systems, the effects of individual interactions between metals and sulfur are most apparent and can be assessed extensively with the aid of theory and modeling. Furthermore, at this temperature diffusion is minimal and relatively-mobile species can be isolated. The primary technique is scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).

On Cu(111), at 0.004 ML S, we find unexpected heart-shaped Cu₂S₃ complexes on the terraces, made up of intersecting linear S-Cu-S units. With supporting density functional theory (DFT) and reaction-diffusion equation analysis, we propose that these hearts are a viable candidate for S-enhanced mass transport of Cu on Cu(111) at higher temperature. As S coverage increases (up to 0.05 ML), a diverse group of Cu-S structures develops which includes concatenated hearts, and eventually the known (√43 x √43)R±7.5^◦ reconstruction[1-2]. Analysis of the step edges of Cu(111) indicates that S decorates the step edges preferentially (relative to the terraces) and that the complexes observed on terraces originate at the step edges.

In contrast, no metal-sulfur complexes are observed on Au(111) under similar conditions (0.03 ML). Instead, we observe striking √3R30^◦ rows made up of S adatoms. Using DFT and ab-initio Monte Carlo analysis, we construct and test a lattice gas model. This analysis shows that these short rows of S adatoms form because of a complex set of through-metal interactions: a linear three-body attraction, as well as long-range pairwise interactions (up to 5a) between S atoms.

These experimental observations for Cu(111) and Au(111) surfaces—made under essentially-identical conditions—together with extensive DFT analyses, allow comparisons and insights into factors that favor the existence of metal-sulfur complexes, vs. chemisorbed atomic sulfur, on metal terraces.

[1] E. Wahlström, I. Ekvall, H. Olin, S. A. Lindgren, and L. Wallden, Phys. Rev. B 60 10699 (1999).

[2] E. Wahlström, I. Ekvall, T. Kihlgren, H. Olin, S. A. Lindgren, and L. Wallden, Phys. Rev. B 64 155406 (2001).

TTF-TCNQ (TTF = tetrathiafulvalene; TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane) is a prototypical organic charge-transfer complex providing with a metallic conductivity (up to 900 ohm-1cm-1 at 300K). It also represents a broad class of organic electronic compounds that exhibit strong electron correlations and a rich gamut of phase transitions involving charge ordering, Mott and Peierls metal-insulator transitions and superconductivity, etc. Despite decades of research in this area, quantitative understanding of this compound is still elusive and their low-dimensional form is barely explored. We investigated ultrathin films of TTF-TCNQ on silver surfaces using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) at 4.3 K. TTF-TCNQ forms self-assembled molecular lattices on noble metal surfaces with a few different TTF-to-TCNQ ratios depending on evaporation condition. Among them the islands with 1 to 1 stoichiometric ratio are found ubiquitously in less dependent on the evaporation condition. Structures of the monolayer islands are elucidated from sub-molecular resolution STM topography images. Single-point conductivity spectroscopy and conductivity mapping elucidate new electronic states which do not stem from their molecular orbital states are spatially located in the void areas of the TTF-TCNQ molecular lattices. We propose the sp-derived metal surface states are confined in the molecular lattices. Due to small periodicity of the lattice, the band minimum of the sp-derived metal surface states is shifted by as much as 1eV. This shift is much more significant than the ones normally observed in organic self-assemblies. As a result, we can also infer the height of the potential barrier within a 1D potential well model, which in turn is directly related to strong molecular dipole associated with large charge transfer and bent molecular geometry due to metal-molecule interactions.

Acknowledgement: A portion of this research (SJ, PD, PG, BS, PM) was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.