Ultrathin organic semiconductor films--soft matter effect

The growth of organic semiconductor thin films has been a crucial issue in organic electronics, especially the growth at the early stages. The thin-film phase has been found to be a common phenomenon in many organic semiconductor thin films, which is closely related with the weak van der Waals interaction between organic molecules, the long-range interaction between organic molecules and the substrate, as well as the soft matter characteristics of ultrathin films. The growth behavior and soft matter characteristics of the thin-film phase have great effects on thin film morphology and structure, for example, the formation and coalescence of grain boundaries, which further influences the performance of organic electronic devices. The understanding of thin-film phase and its intrinsic quality is necessary for fabricating large-size, highly ordered, continuous and defect-free ultrathin films. This review will focus on the growth behavior of organic ultrathin films, i.e., the level of the first several molecular layers, and provide an overview of the soft matter characteristics.