Thin organic films by atmospheric-pressure ion deposition

Interest in thin films of functional organic materials has increased enormously in recent years because of the wide range of possible applications. Here we report an experimental setup for processing various organic materials into thin structured films under atmospheric pressure. The technique is based on an electrospray process. Microdroplets are initially formed and dried, generating ions that are extracted by electrostatic lenses. Thin structured films are then produced by the deposition of the resulting ion beam onto a moveable target. The technique offers several interesting features, including precise control of film thicknesses. We have also made experiments to investigate structured deposition, this being the first step towards the production of thin films where in all three dimensions the chemical composition can be chosen at will. This might provide a simple approach towards creating thin structured films and composites that are currently unattainable.