Oxygen as a surfactant for Al contact metallization of organic layers

Valence band and spatially resolved x-ray photoemission studies of the Al growth on sexiphenyl films, in both an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) and in a partial pressure of oxygen, are reported. We show that in an UHV, even for very high coverages, the Al balls up on the organic film and is discontinuous. In contrast, for growth in an oxygen partial pressure, similar to that in standard high-vacuum systems used in organic device production, very thin continuous conducting wetting layers are formed. We suggest that the oxygen acts like a surfactant that allows the high surface free-energy metal to wet low surface free-energy organic films. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.