METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING ORGANIC SOLID CRYSTALS
A method of forming an organic solid crystal (OSC) thin film includes forming a layer of molecular feedstock over a surface of a substrate, the molecular feedstock including an organic solid crystal precursor, forming crystal nuclei from the organic solid crystal precursor within a nucleation region of the layer of molecular feedstock, and growing the crystal nuclei to form the organic solid crystal thin film.
1 . A method comprising:
forming a layer of molecular feedstock over a surface of a substrate, the molecular feedstock comprising an organic solid crystal precursor;
forming crystal nuclei from the organic solid crystal precursor within a nucleation region of the layer of molecular feedstock; and
growing the crystal nuclei to form an organic solid crystal thin film.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer of molecular feedstock is molten prior to forming the crystal nuclei.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the molecular feedstock comprises a heterocycle selected from the group consisting of furan, pyrrole, thiophene, pyridine, pyrimidine, and piperidine.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the molecular feedstock comprises a dopant selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the organic solid crystal precursor comprises a crystallizable organic molecule.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the organic solid crystal precursor comprises a hydrocarbon compound selected from the group consisting of anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene, corannulene, fluorene, and biphenyl.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the crystal nuclei comprises heating the layer of molecular feedstock to a temperature less than a melting onset temperature of the organic solid crystal precursor within the nucleation region.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
forming a layer of non-volatile medium material over the surface of the substrate; and
forming the layer of molecular feedstock directly over the layer of non-volatile medium material.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
forming a seed layer over the surface of the substrate; and
forming the layer of molecular feedstock directly over the seed layer.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising locating a cover plate over the layer of molecular feedstock while growing the crystal nuclei.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the cover plate is inclined at an angle with respect to the surface of a substrate.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the organic solid crystal thin film is a single crystal layer.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the organic solid crystal thin film is a polycrystalline layer.
14 . A method comprising:
forming a layer of molecular feedstock over a surface of a substrate, the molecular feedstock comprising an organic solid crystal precursor;
forming an organic solid crystal thin film from the layer of molecular feedstock;
forming a primary electrode over a first portion of the organic solid crystal thin film;
forming a secondary electrode over a second portion of the organic solid crystal thin film; and
changing a biased state between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode in an amount effective to change an optical property of the organic solid crystal thin film.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the optical property is selected from the group consisting of refractive index, birefringence, and absorption of visible light.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein changing the biased state changes a refractive index of the organic solid crystal thin film by at least approximately 0.0005.
17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein changing the biased state changes a birefringence of the organic solid crystal thin film by at least approximately 0.0005.
18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein changing the biased state changes an amount of visible light absorbed by the organic solid crystal thin film by at least approximately 10%.
19 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the organic solid crystal thin film comprises mutually orthogonal in-plane refractive indices (n x and n y ) and a through thickness refractive index (n 1 ), with n x >1.4, n y >1.4, n z >1.4, Δn xy 0.1, Δn xy >Δn xz , and Δn xy >Δn yz .
20 . A method comprising:
forming an organic solid crystal-containing active layer;
forming a primary electrode over a first portion of the active layer; and
forming a secondary electrode over a second portion of the active layer.