High-Speed Formation of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Thin Films Using Atomic Layer Deposition and Self-Assembled Monolayers

Abstract

Organic-inorganic hybrid thin films were fabricated by a new growth technique that can control thickness with nanometer level. This method is based on atomic layer deposition and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in gas phase. The 7-octenyltrichlorosilane as the SAMs precursor was formed on TiO2 at 473K under vacuum. The C=C terminal groups of the SAMs were activated by using O3 treatment in gas phase. It was found that the C=C terminal groups of the SAMs were converted to hydrophilic groups (e.g., OH, aldehydes, carboxylic acid) during the O3 treatment. The TiO2 thin layers for strong interaction between the SAMs molecules were deposited by atomic layer deposition from titanium isopropoxide and water at 473K. These results demonstrated that the organic-inorganic hybrid thin films can be formed by repeated SAMs/TiO2 deposition under vacuum. The thin films have been investigated by using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and digital multi-meter.