Dielectric behavior of self-assembled monolayers on conducting metal oxidesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Structure of TDP, AFM of Nb-STO, optical images and XPS spectra of top contacts after Cu deposition. See DOI: 10.1039/c1jm15061h

Pt top contacts have been deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) onto bare and tetradecylphosphate (TDP) self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-modified Nb-doped SrTiO 3 (Nb-STO) substrates. For the SAM-modified substrates, electrochemical Cu deposition occurred only at the places where electrical shorts existed between the top contact and the substrate. A nearly perfect yield of top contacts without shorts was obtained, which shows the dense packing and robustness of the SAM. The SAM decreased the leakage current about 500 times compared to the bare substrate. Alkylphosphate SAMs on conducting metal oxide substrates can therefore be used as dielectric thin films for device fabrication. Pt top contacts are fabricated by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on Nb-doped SrTiO 3 (Nb-STO) substrates modified with a tetradecylphosphate self-assembled monolayer (SAM). A nearly 100% yield of top contacts without shorts is achieved. The SAM decreases the leakage current about 500 times compared to the bare substrate.