Growth of copper–phthalocyanine thin films on mica using a two-stage deposition technique

We have developed a two-stage deposition technique to fabricate copper–phthalocyanine Cu–Pc.thin films with good crystallinity and a molecularly flat surface. The Cu–Pc thin films were grown on mica substrates using an ionized cluster beam ICB.system, and examined using scanning electron microscopy SEM., atomic force microscopy AFM., and X-ray diffraction XRD.techniques. In the two-stage deposition technique, a thin layer 2 nm.of Cu–Pc film was deposited at a temperature below 338 K in the first stage, and a Cu–Pc film of designed thickness 10 nm.was deposited at a temperature near 473 K in the second stage. These thin films had a well developed 002. texture showing good crystallinity, and unidirectionally aligned, elongated crystallites with the root mean square rms.surface roughness of 1.8 nm, which is less than the 2 molecular diameter of Cu–Pc. Various factors affecting the growth of Cu–Pc films during the two-stage deposition are examined to elucidate the controlling mechanisms. q1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.