Rapid and high-resolution patterning of microstructure and composition in organic semiconductors using ‘molecular gates’

Photolithography has been a major enabling tool for miniaturisation of silicon devices that underpinned the electronics revolution. Rapid, high-resolution patterning of key material characteristics would, similarly, accelerate the advent of molecular electronics and photonics. Here we advance a versatile approach employing local diffusion of functional small-molecular compounds through a solution-processed ‘molecular gate’ interlayer. Diffusion is activated using laser light or solvent vapour jets―a process that can be finely modulated down to molecule-on-demand deposition precision with almost photolithographic resolution (3 S cm–1 for improved electronic devices. Finally, we demonstrate the unique capability for one-step patterning of multiple functionalities by spatially modulating composition in ternary blends, leading to locally tunable photoluminescence from blue to red.We are indebted to Enrique Pascual (ICMAB-CSIC) for providing insights into laser patterning and Lou Kiss (Middlesex University) for freely shared advice on the preparation of the graphics. We express our deepest gratitude to Paul Smith (ETH Zürich) for critically reviewing the manuscript. We thank Miquel Casademont-Viñas (ICMAB-CSIC) for invaluable contribution to exploring the limits of the method, and Agustín Mihi and Andrés Gómez (ICMAB-CSIC) for assistance with optical spectroscopy and AFM analysis. We also thank Daniel Kremer and Hans-Werner Schmidt (Universität Bayreuth) for their customary hospitality and assistance with DSC measurements. We further acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496) and project reference PGC2018-095411-B-I00, as well as the European Research Council (ERC) under grant agreement number 648901.Peer reviewe