Metallic conduction at organic charge-transfer interfaces.
The electronic properties of interfaces between two different solids can differ strikingly from those of the constituent materials. For instance, metallic conductivity-and even superconductivity-have recently been discovered at interfaces formed by insulating transition-metal oxides. Here, we investigate interfaces between crystals of conjugated organic molecules, which are large-gap undoped semiconductors, that is, essentially insulators. We find that highly conducting interfaces can be realized with resistivity ranging from 1 to 30 kohms per square, and that, for the best samples, the temperature dependence of the conductivity is metallic. The observed electrical conduction originates from a large transfer of charge between the two crystals that takes place at the interface, on a molecular scale. As the interface assembly process is simple and can be applied to crystals of virtually any conjugated molecule, the conducting interfaces described here represent the first examples of a new class of electronic systems.
Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands.
Helena
H
Alves
Anna S
AS
Molinari
Hangxing
H
Xie
Alberto F
AF
Morpurgo