Phenyl–Terminated Self Assembled Monolayers on Si(100) for Low Voltage Transistor Applications

This paper reports on the structural studies of 3–phenyl propyl and 9–benzyloxynonanyl self–assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Si(100). Surface compositional analysis of both SAMs reveal they are robust and do not undergo oxidation over extended periods. Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals that both SAMs exhibit dense layers which is attributed to the π−π stacking between the phenyl rings. The C9 SAMs shows more dense packing with a distance of <0.5 nm between the phenyl rings whereas the C3 SAMs shows a distance of 0.6 nm. The effect of the alkyl chain length on the π–π stacking and density of SAMs is discussed.