Interaction of alkali metals with perylene-3,4,9,10- tetracarboxylic–dianhydride thin films

n doping of the molecular organic semiconductor perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic–dianhydride (PTCDA) is often achieved by use of alkali metals as dopants. This doping process is commonly performed in two steps. In the first the dopant is evaporated onto the surface of the PTCDA film. As it has been believed that the dopant shows an inhomogeneous diffusion profile through the layer with most of the dopant accumulated in the first few layers, a subsequent annealing step has been performed in order to reach a homogeneous distribution of the dopant in the whole layer. In this paper experimental results concerning chemical composition ((angle resolved) X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, secondary-ion-mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), electronic structure (ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy, inverse photoemission spectroscopy), as well as electrical properties (conductivity, Seebeck coefficient) are shown before and after doping and before and after annealing. These results suggest that the deposited dopant is redistributed and partially removed during the annealing step. A model for the dopant distribution is suggested.