Investigation of the growth of PTCDA on Cu(110):an STM study

The growth of the organic semiconductor 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) on Cu(1 1 0) was studied by STM. The PTCDA coverage was varied from submonolayer to multilayer. For submonolayer and monolayer coverage the PTCDA molecules induce a restructuring of the underlying Cu(1 1 0) Surface by addition or removal of Cu-rows in the [1 1 0]-direction. The rectangular PTCDA superstructure indicates a strong interaction between the substrate and PTCDA. Investigation of higher coverage of PTCDA shows that it g-rows in the Stranski-Krastanov-mode. Well ordered mesatype three-dimensional-crystallites are formed. Both the top layer and the flanks were molecularly resolved allowing to analyze the layer by layer growth and the crystal structure. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.