This research project, carried out in the laboratory of Professor Robert Hamers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is concerned with the organic functionalization of group IV semiconductor surfaces, specifically the (001) surfaces of Si, Ge, and diamond. With the support of the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, Hamers and his coworkers are investigating the reaction of various organic molecules with the double bonded dimer species present on the (001) surfaces of these semiconductors. This is a route to the modification of these surfaces with organic overlayers, and the use of this chemistry for the subsequent functionalization of these materials. Applications of this chemistry to the construction of molecular electronic devices, and the developing "gene chip" technologies are clear.
The ability to attach organic molecules to semiconductor substrates in a controlled and reproducible fashion is the focus of this research program. If a reliable route to the attachment of organic molecules to these surfaces can be developed, the synthetic power and diversity of organic chemistry becomes available for the functionalization of these materials for applications in electronic device fabrication and in bioanalytical chemistry. A range of scanning probe methods coupled with ultra high vacuum spectroscopic probes is used to characterize and understand this interfacial chemistry.
