THIN-FILMS PREPARED BY SIMULTANEOUS DEPOSITION OF COPPER AND FREE-BASE PHTHALOCYANINE

Composite films of metals and dielectrics attracted considerable atten tion in the past for their novel optical and mechanical properties whi ch can be tailored precisely by changing their structure and compositi on. In this work we present a probe into a related but hitherto unexpl ored field of composites where metal is combined with molecular semico nductor. As model materials we chose free-base phthalocyanine and copp er. Films were prepared by simultaneous deposition of copper and free- base phthalocyanine in the dual ICB system. An answer to two basic que stions was sought after: 1) does the copper combine with free-base pht halocyanine to form a copper phthalocyanine complex, 2) what is the st ructure of the films if there is non-stoichiometric surplus of copper in the films? We report results of structural study by a transmission electron microscope. Optical behaviour of the composite was characteri zed by optical reflectance and transmittance measurement in UV/VIS/NIR range and complemented by FT IR spectra.