Anisotropic Crystalline Organic Step-Flow Growth on Deactivated Si Surfaces

We report the first demonstration of anisotropic step-flow growth of organic molecules on a semiconducting substrate using metal phthalocyanine thermally deposited on the deactivated Si(111)-B root 3 x root 3 p R30 degrees surface. With scanning probe microscopy and geometric modeling, we prove the quasiepitaxial nature of this step-flow growth that exhibits no true commensurism, despite a single dominant long-range ordered relationship between the organic crystalline film and the substrate, uniquely distinct from inorganic epitaxial growth. This growth mode can likely be generalized for a range of organic molecules on deactivated Si surfaces and access to it offers new potential for the integration of ordered organic thin films in silicon-based electronics. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.086107