Fractal-compact island transition and self-limiting growth of pentacene on polymers

A mode of self-limiting growth has been identified which results in the formation of isolated monolayer and multilayer crystalline islands of pentacene with widths up to 20 μm. A size dependent transition from rough to compact monolayer island growth is observed experimentally and confirmed using numerical simulations. Nucleation of a second layer acts as a self-limiting mechanism beyond which lateral growth is suppressed and islands grow normal to the surface with the simultaneous formation of dendritic crystallites.