Intermolecular elastic and plastic characteristics of organic phthalocyanine thin films evaluated by nanoindentation

Although small molecule organic thin films have been applied to electronics, very few experimental results have been reported in respect to their mechanical properties. Here the authors report experimental results in which three types of phthalocyanine (Pc) thin films were investigated for mechanical characteristics using a nanoindentation. Indentation hardness of zinc Pc(ZnPc) thin films was significantly higher than those of metal-free Pc(H2Pc) and copper Pc(CuPc) thin films by a factor of approximately 1.7 times. From the mechanical prarameters, the critical bending radius is evaluated in the range of 4.0-5.7 mm for the Pc films on a polymer base film. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.