This book deals with basic aspects of polymer electronics and optoelectronics. There is an enormous world-wide effort both in basic scientific research as well as in industrial development in the area of organic electronics. It is becoming increasingly clear that, if devices based on organic materials are ever going to have a significant relevance beyond being a cheap replacement for inorganic semiconductors, there will be a need to understand interface formation, film growth and functionality. A control of these aspects will allow the realisation of totally new device concepts exploiting the enormous flexibility inherent in organic chemistry. In this book we focus on oligomeric/molecular films as we believe that the control of molecular structures and interfaces provides highly defined systems which allow, on the one hand the study of the basic physics and on the other hand to find the important parameters necessary to improve organic devices.

Organic semiconductors are a central topic of advanced materials research. The book is aiming at bridging the gap between the development and production of devices and basic research on thin film characterisation using cutting-edge techniques in surface and interface science. Topics involve organic molecular-based sensors; interfaces in organic diodes and transistors; mobility in organic field effect transistors and space charge problems; integration of optoelectronic nanostructures; nonlinear optical properties of organic nanostructures; the wetting layer problem; how to get from functionalized molecules to nanoaggregates; optical, electrical and mechanical properties of organic nanofibers as well; as near field investigations of organic thin films.

This jaw-dropping window on the future is the first comprehensive overview of the fabrication, fundamental properties, and applications of a new class of nanoscaled organic materials. These materials offer incredible scope to scientists wanting to exploit their optical and electronic properties and offer the potential to create a new generation of tiny devices with powerful applications. Altogether, the book offers a unique integration of organic materials science basics, nanostructured organic materials fabrication, and device applications.

In a uniform and comprehensive manner the authors describe all the important aspects of the epitaxial growth processes of solid films on crystalline substrates, e.g. processes in which atoms of the growing film mimic the arrangement of the atoms of the substrate. Emphasis is put on sufficiently fundamental and unequivocal presentation of the subject in the form of an easy-to-read review. A large part of this book focuses on the problems of heteroepitaxy. The most important epitaxial growth techniques which are currently widely used in basic research as well as in manufacturing processes of devices are presented and discussed in detail.

This book deals with basic aspects of polymer electronics and optoelectronics. There is an enormous world-wide effort both in basic scientific research as well as in industrial development in the area of organic electronics. It is becoming increasingly clear that, if devices based on organic materials are ever going to have a significant relevance beyond being a cheap replacement for inorganic semiconductors, there will be a need to understand interface formation, film growth and functionality. A control of these aspects will allow the realisation of totally new device concepts exploiting the enormous flexibility inherent in organic chemistry. In this book we focus on oligomeric/molecular films as we believe that the control of molecular structures and interfaces provides highly defined systems which allow, on the one hand the study of the basic physics and on the other hand to find the important parameters necessary to improve organic devices.

Molecular Beam Epitaxy describes a technique in wide-spread use for the production of high-quality semiconductor devices. It discusses the most important aspects of the MBE apparatus, the physics and chemistry of the crystallization of various materials and device structures, and the characterization methods that relate the structural parameters of the grown (or growing) film or structure to the technologically relevant procedure. In this second edition two new fields have been added: crystallization of as-grown low-dimensional heterostructures, mainly quantum wires and quantum dots, and in-growth control of the MBE crystallization process of strained-layer structures. Out-of-date material has been removed.

Organic semiconductors are a central topic of advanced materials research. The book is aiming at bridging the gap between the development and production of devices and basic research on thin film characterisation using cutting-edge techniques in surface and interface science. Topics involve organic molecular-based sensors; interfaces in organic diodes and transistors; mobility in organic field effect transistors and space charge problems; integration of optoelectronic nanostructures; nonlinear optical properties of organic nanostructures; the wetting layer problem; how to get from functionalized molecules to nanoaggregates; optical, electrical and mechanical properties of organic nanofibers as well; as near field investigations of organic thin films.

In a uniform and comprehensive manner the authors describe all the important aspects of the epitaxial growth processes of solid films on crystalline substrates, e.g. processes in which atoms of the growing film mimic the arrangement of the atoms of the substrate. Emphasis is put on sufficiently fundamental and unequivocal presentation of the subject in the form of an easy-to-read review. A large part of this book focuses on the problems of heteroepitaxy. The most important epitaxial growth techniques which are currently widely used in basic research as well as in manufacturing processes of devices are presented and discussed in detail.

This first-ever monograph on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) gives a comprehensive presentation of recent developments in MBE, as applied to crystallization of thin films and device structures of different semiconductor materials. MBE is a high-vacuum technology characterized by relatively low growth temperature, ability to cease or initiate growth abruptly, smoothing of grown surfaces and interfaces on an atomic scale, and the unique facility for in situ analysis of the structural parameters of the growing film. The excellent exploitation parameters of such MBE-produced devices as quantum-well lasers, high electron mobility transistors, and superlattice avalanche photodiodes have caused this technology to be intensively developed. The main text of the book is divided into three parts. The first presents and discusses the more important problems concerning MBE equipment. The second discusses the physico-chemical aspects of the crystallization processes of different materials (mainly semiconductors) and device structures. The third part describes the characterization methods which link the physical properties of the grown film or structures with the technological parameters of the crystallization procedure. Latest achievements in the field are emphasized, such as solid source MBE, including silicon MBE, gas source MBE, especially metalorganic MBE, phase-locked epitaxy and atomic-layer epitaxy, photoassisted molecular layer epitaxy and migration enhanced epitaxy.