Growth mechanisms of F4-TCNQ on inorganic substrates and nanostructures

The organic semiconductor tetrafluorotetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ) is a promising candidate for the doping of organic semiconductors, two-dimensional materials and inorganic compounds, such as ZnO, and also to enhance the charge carrier injection at contacts in organic electronics. In order to evaluate its applicability as a functionalization material or as an electrically active part in devices, we present a systematic study on the growth mode of F4-TCNQ beyond the first few monolayers on different inorganic substrates that cover a broad variety regarding their physical, chemical and morphological surface properties. The materials used are silicon, silicon carbide, graphene on silicon, sapphire, nanocrystalline diamond, as well as gallium nitride (GaN) layers and nanowire arrays. While the surface termination influences the shape and morphology of the islands of F4-TCNQ which form on all substrates investigated, no significant dependence of the growth mode on the substrate doping type and concentration is observed. GaN nanowires are found to act as nucleation sites for F4-TCNQ islands and to be covered by few monolayers of F4-TCNQ forming a closed coaxial shell. In conclusion, F4-TCNQ is identified to nucleate via Stranski-Krastanov growth consisting of monolayers and islands of different size and shape. The findings in this work provide basic growth information for the implementation of F4-TCNQ as functionalization material for nanowire-based applications.