Crystal growth of C60 thin films on layered substrates

Abstract

The process of the C₆₀ thin film crystal growth on layered materials such as MoS₂ and mica is studied in detail with a combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and reflection high‐energy electron diffractometry, and is compared to that on alkali‐halide (NaCl) substrates. AFM shows that a single crystal containing triangle‐shaped grains of 1–2 μm size with a (111) surface terrace is grown on the MoS₂ substrate over a large area through a layer‐by‐layer process, while the grains on mica are 200–400 nm in size and distribute with some disorder in the orientation. The epitaxial characteristics of the C₆₀ crystal growth on these layered substrates are discussed in comparison with that on alkali‐halides.