Thickness dependent electronic structure and morphology of rubrene thin films on metal, semiconductor, and dielectric substrates

Abstract

The evolution of the electronic structure and morphology of rubrene thin films on noble-metal, semiconductor and dielectric substrates have been investigated as a function of thickness of deposited films by using photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The clean polycrystalline Au and Ag were used as noble-metals, whereas, H passivated and SiO2 coated Si (100) were used as semiconductors and dielectric substrates. Discussion and comparison on interface dipole, energy level alignment, and surface morphology for the four cases are presented. The formation of dipole at metallic interfaces is found to occur due to push back effect. S parameter obtained from the variation of barrier height with the change of work function of the contacting metal indicates moderately weak interaction between rubrene and the metal substrates. The thickness dependent energy level alignment of the physisorbed rubrene films on different substrates is explained by a dielectric model in terms of electrostatic screening of photo-holes or photoemission final state relaxation energy. Films on all the substrates are found to grow following Stranski−Krastnov type growth mode and are more ordered at higher coverage.