Two-Dimensional Self-Organization of CdS Ultra Thin Films by Confined Electrochemical Atomic Layer Epitaxy Growth

We present a method that uses patterned self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiolates on silver as templates to fabricate ordered two-dimensional arrays of solid CdS nanoclusters. The CdS is grown by electrochemical atomic layer epitaxy inside sub-micrometric stripes of hexadecanthiol SAM fabricated by microcontact printing. CdS ultrathin films grow and self-organize into an ordered pattern of nanoclusters. This pattern exhibits both lithographically imposed ordered structures and a self-affine structure along the direction perpendicular to the stripes. On the contrary, along the direction parallel to the stripes no spatial correlation among the clusters has ever been observed.